


Alexandria Ricci

by MissNMikaelson



Series: Soulmates [2]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-06-11 05:51:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 20
Words: 47,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15308841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissNMikaelson/pseuds/MissNMikaelson
Summary: This is the backstory for Lexa. The original character I made for Dealing With the Hybrids.For anyone unfamiliar. Lexa is the witch soulmate of Kol Mikaelson.





	1. 1684-1700

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own TVD or TO

1684

Screams ripped through her throat. Each contraction seemed to tear through her body. Giulia was certain she was going to split down the middle any moment. She could make out the sound of hushed voices praying in the next room.

Fear gripped her. This was the most dangerous thing she had ever done. It was the most dangerous thing she could ever do.

Gabriel had wanted children for years. For years he had asked her. He had begged her to stop taking the herbs.

"One more push, sister," Sylvie encouraged.

"You said that before," Giulia sobbed. She cursed herself for ever listening to her husband.

"I mean it this time," Sylvie smiled, "I can see the head."

Giulia gritted her teeth and grasped the rope that had been hung over the bed. With everything she had in her she bore down. She felt the charms that had been placed on her belly roll off of her and unto the bed. She grunted from the exertion.

A loud wail filled the room. Giulia fell back against the bed as small contractions continued to move through her abdomen; they were less painful now that the child was out.

"Would you like to hold her?" Sylvie cut the cord and stood with the child.

"Her?" Giulia felt tears fill her eyes. Exhaustion caught up with her. A tiny sob tore through her throat as the child was placed in her arms. "Hello, ninita…"

Sylvie perched on the side of the birthing bed. "What's wrong?"

"He wanted a boy," Giulia hiccupped.

"I told you months ago it was a girl," Sylvie smiled. "Didn't you tell him?"

"Of course," she murmured as she dropped a kiss to the baby's head. "He never put much stock in the craft though." Giulia had actually stopped practicing after her marriage.

"Ah," Sylvie laughed, "he was holding out hope for a boy."

Giulia nodded. "She's perfect, though."

"And she'll be very powerful one day," Sylvie laid her hand over her nieces torso. "I can sense it."

"Let's just hope he's not disappointed," Giulia swallowed.

"If he is there is always next time," Sylvie nodded decisively.

"I'm not doing that again," Giulia lifted her eyes from her daughter.

"They all say that," Sylvie shrugged.

"Not everyone has the power to ensure it," Giulia quipped.

"Fair enough," Sylvie moved to take the baby.

"What are you doing?" Giulia tightened her hold.

"I was going to clean her."

Reluctantly she passed the baby back to her sister.

* * *

Giulia held her daughter in her arms and rested against the pillows Sylvie had arranged behind her. She waited with baited breath as the door opened and Gabriel crossed over the threshold to stand by her head.

"Is this our…"

"Daughter," Giulia moved the blanket back from her face.

"Daughter?" He took a seat on the edge of their bed. He blinked when his wife placed the small bundle in his arms. "She has your nose," he smiled and ran his finger over the baby's face.

"You're not disappointed?"

"How could I be?" Gabriel glanced up from the child in his arms. "You've given me a child. Have you named her?"

"Yes," Giulia sat up and cupped the baby's head. "Her name is Alexandria."

"My beautiful little Alexa," he breathed. His voice was so soft the first 'a' was barely audible.

* * *

1689

She ran her fingers over the smooth fabric and traced the tiny flower petals. She loved this dress. It was her favorite dress. Whenever mama wore it she was reminded of spring.

Mama hadn't worn the dress in months. She hadn't worn anything aside from her nightgown.

"Lexa, ninita?" A soft voice called from upstairs. "Where are you?"

"Coming, papa," Lexa pushed the fabric back into the basket. Her blond curls slipped from the ribbons at the back of her head as she skipped up the stairs and ran into her papa's arms.

"Where have you been ninita?" He smiled and brushed back her curls.

"I was picking flowers for Mama," Lexa grinned. She held up the handful of daisies. "Will she like them?"

"She'll love them."

Lexa tilted her head and frowned. Her papa's smile didn't reach his eyes. Usually his eyes would sparkle with his smiles, but today his green eyes were sad.

"What's wrong, papa?" She took his hand and followed him into the bedroom.

"Nothing, 'Lexa," he squeezed her fingers. "Come see your mama."

Lexa held her breath when she saw her mama. She sat propped against the headboard; her cheeks were unnaturally red. Aunt Sylvie was holding a cup to her lips.

"Mama," Lexa's bottom lip quivered.

"Ninita," Giulia held out her hand. "Come," she patted the side of the bed. She smiled gratefully when Gabriel lifted their daughter onto the bed. "Did you bring me flowers?"

"Yes," Lexa lifted the daisies, "to make you feel better."

"Thank you," Giulia smiled weakly. She took the flowers and lifted them to her nose. "Did papa tell you these are my favorite?"

Lexa shook her head. She had just known… sometimes she just knew things. She saw her aunt cast an angry look towards her papa. "Tia? Are you mad at Papa?"

"No," Sylvie shook her head. "Of course not, ninita."

"Sylvie," Giulia murmured. She had caught the edge in her sister's voice. "Not now, please." She turned to her daughter.

"Will you pick flowers with me tomorrow, Mama?" Lexa sat up on her knees and held her hands in front of her. "It will be time to swim soon, too."

"I don't think so," Giulia shook her head.

"Are you still sick?" Lexa frowned. "Can't Tia make you better?"

"Not this time," Giulia blinked back a few tears.

"Is the baby sick too?" Lexa placed her hand on Giulia's stomach.

"No," Sylvie shook her head. "You need your rest Giulia," she gave her sister a pointed look.

"I need to spend time with my daughter," Giulia returned the look. She turned to Lexa and smiled gently. "Tell me what you've been doing," she commanded, "are the flowers out yet."

Lexa nodded before falling beside her on the bed. She described every flower in their garden in vivid detail until her mother had fallen asleep.

Three days later Lexa took up refuge in that garden when the screaming started. She started tearing the flowers from the ground to make a bouquet for her mama.

The stems of the daisies bent in her tiny hands when she walked back into the house and saw her aunt arguing with her papa.

"Where's mama?" Lexa's shoulders drooped. Her knees shook as she approached. Dropping the flowers she curled her fingers in Sylvie's skirts.

* * *

1699

Lexa was fourteen years old when papa died. Her step mother had been left in charge of her care, and had immediately started making plans for her wedding.

"It's ridiculous," Sylvie tossed herbs into the canvas bag. "Absolutely ridiculous. What is that woman thinking."

Lexa busied her hands by grinding the herbs. "I'm of marriageable age, Tia," she shifted her arm to add more pressure to the pestle.

"You are too young," Sylvie poured the herbs into a bowl. "Fifteen is too young to be having babies."

"I'll be sixteen when I'm wed," Lexa tucked a wayward curl into her braid.

"That's not much better," Sylvie grumbled. "Ninita," she cupped Lexa's cheeks, "if I didn't know better I would think you wanted to marry. Or is it just that you wish to leave your stepmother?"

Lexa shrugged off her aunt's hands. "I'm not a child anymore, Tia," she grumbled. "Mama was married at sixteen. Maria was seventeen when she married Papa."

"A twenty-seven year old woman has no business arranging your marriage," Sylvie placed her hands on her hips. "She is little more than a child herself."

"Tia," Lexa reached for the purple flowers, "from all accounts Emiliano Acosta is a good man. I would be well taken care of."

"He is ten years your senior, Lexa," she shook her head. "Your mother…"

"Mama has been gone ten years," Lexa blinked back her tears. She ground the flower petals into a dense powder.

"Thinner," Sylvie leaned over to inspect her work. "If you are poisoning a vampire you want the vervain to dissolve completely."

"Yes, Tia," she nodded.

* * *

1700

Lexa fingered the square in her hand as she eyed the bed. The embroidered petals tickled her thumbs. To say she was nervous was an understatement. She worried her lip and turned to face the door when it opened to admit her new husband.

"Has someone told you what to expect?" Emiliano nodded to the bed while taking a drink from his glass.

"Yes," Lexa twisted the silver band around her finger.

"Good," he drained the wine and crossed the floor to stand in front of her. As he walked he kicked off his shoes and untied the laces.

Lexa swallowed when the breeches hit the floor with a soft thump. His waist coat and cravat followed. By the time he was standing in front of her he was standing in his shirt.

"Turn around," he instructed. When she didn't move immediately his hand shot out.

She winced when her arm was pulled in his strong grip; she spun around quickly and took a shaky breath when the laces from her dress were pulled. A shiver raced down her spine when she was left in her corset and her shift. She moved faster this time. Her fingers were loosening the whalebone corset when she spun back to face him. She made quick work of them and lifted the corset over her head.

"Lay down," he guided her backwards.

Lexa nodded and slid into the centre of the bed. Her head swam when he laid on top of her and she smelt the wine on his breath.

He lifted the shift around her hips and spread her thighs wide.

Lexa gasped. Her head fell back against the pillows as he thrust inside of her. She squeezed her eyes shut and dug her teeth into her lip to suppress her shriek. She couldn't remember ever feeling so uncomfortable in her life.

After a few minutes of hard thrusting she grew wet enough that some of the pain eased. And by that she meant it didn't feel like she was going to split in two.

She wasn't sure how long it went on for, all she knew was that she wanted to be anywhere else in that moment.

Later after he had fallen asleep she rolled her hips experimentally. There was a persistent ache between her legs and a red stain on her thighs.

* * *

She swallowed her tears and braced her hands on the dresser. Two weeks of marriage had not made taking him any easier, but at least she had stopped bleeding. Her body seemed to anticipate what was happening and worked to help. Even so it was painful.

At least in this position, bent forward while standing up, he was easier to take.

* * *

Three weeks into her marriage he told her she would start working in the tavern. It was nice to have a distraction, although she did miss spending time in her aunt's garden.

There was a garden in the back of the tavern, but it lacked any herbs that she could use. The flowers had been chosen by Emiliano's sister; they had been chosen for their beauty rather than their usefulness.

The only useful herb she could find was vervain and even that was useless in the small tavern. Vampires didn't travel this far out of the city. She had not seen one since leaving Madrid, and she doubted she ever would again.

She jumped when Emiliano took her elbow. The wine she had been pouring splashed onto the table. She apologized profusely and moved to wipe up the wine.

"Leave it," he squeezed her elbow painfully. "One of the barmaids will clean it up. If you'll excuse me gentlemen," he nodded to the men at the table, "I have a surprise for my bride that simply can't wait."

The men chuckled and nodded. Lexa stumbled slightly when he pulled her with him and through a door into their bedroom.

She inhaled when she smelt the ale on his breath. He was more forceful when he drank ale; that seemed to be his preferred drink.

"Emiliano…" Lexa chewed her lip. Her eyes fell to his hands which were pushing down his breeches. "Please… I'm still sore from this morning." She gasped when he pushed her back against the wall. Her shoulders hunched. She could feel bruises forming on her upper arms.

She blinked in surprise when he pushed her onto her knees. Her eyes narrowed in confusion when his cock pressed against her lips. She held her mouth firmly closed and shook her head.

"You said you were sore," he grasped her chin. "This is your alternative."

"No," she mumbled. A sharp sting spread over her cheek. Her mouth popped open involuntarily when she reached up to rub the red mark; that was the first he had stricken her.

Lexa gagged when his hard cock hit the back of her throat. Tears welled in her eyes to spill over her bright cheeks. She grew light headed as he continued to force himself down her throat. She closed her eyes and waited for it to be over. With each short breath through her nose she thought of hexing him. Unfortunately she didn't know any hexes; her aunt had only taught her light magic.

"It's time you learned to do as you're told," he grunted and buried himself in her mouth. Hot seed spilled from the corners of her lips. "I don't know what you were told about marriage, but wives are meant to be obedient. When I tell you to do something you do it immediately whether it's serving customers, or servicing me."

She opened her eyes when he pulled out and fell forward onto her hands. She coughed up the fluid that hadn't found its way into her stomach.

"Do you understand?"

Lexa squeezed her eyes shut.

"That required a response, Alexandria," he snarled and pulled her to her feet.

She had just enough time to throw out her hands to keep herself from being tossed to the floor. She braced the edges of the bed and sobbed when she was pushed forward onto the hard mattress. Her skirts were lifted up over her waist. She pressed her thighs together thinking he was going to fuck her.

The first blow took her by surprise as his hand came down on her exposed backside. The second one drew a sharp cry from her lips. She knew the third slap was turning her bum black and blue just as she knew he was going to switch to the other cheek.

"Do you understand?" He tore her legs apart and thrust into her clenching cunt.

"Y-yes," she sobbed. "I understand."

She was still lying face down with her skirts around her waist when he told her to clean her face and go back to work. His words fell on deaf ears. Lexa sincerely hoped her stepmother was an ignorant woman; if not it meant that she had knowingly arranged the union that just might lead to her death.


	2. 1702 Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.  
> As promised Kol makes his first appearance here.  
> Again there is some potentially triggering material. it's located after she goes to sleep.

May 1702

It had been two years. Two years since she had married him. It had been nearly two years since she had sworn to never give him children. Emiliano was all pleasant smiles until they were behind closed doors.

After that first beating she had slipped from the tavern in the middle of the night. It had been a painful walk. Each step had sent jolts through her backside. Her thighs had trembled when she finally reached the small cabin in the darkest part of the woods. She knew she would be unlikely to ever make the trip again so she gathered as many of the herbs as she could and made the trek back to the small clearing. She had lifted the jade necklace from around her neck, the last present her mother had given her, and laid it under the light of the full moon. With the absence of a mortar and pestle she had ground the herbs between her palms until her skin was raw; the acacia left tiny cuts in her skin. She probably could have gotten away with one contraceptive herb but she was still reeling from her ordeal and used three: acacia, Queen Anne's lace, and rue. Blood had dripped from her nose when she was done, but it had worked; she had successfully imbued the properties of the herbs into the necklace.

She fingered the jade around her neck as the wine slowly filled the pitcher in her hand. So long as she wore the talisman she would not conceive a child. Lexa winced when she straightened up.

A certain mixture of herbs often kept Emiliano out of their bed in the evenings; slipped into his ale in the evening it would cause him to pass out before the fire. A whispered incantation would alter his memory of the evening to make him believe he had lain with his wife.

It was rare when he would approach her during the day, and when he did there was nothing she could do against his superior strength. She had learned that if she kept herself busy he left her alone though. It had been nearly a year since he had actually taken her.

While sharing a bed was a rare concern beatings came monthly. Perhaps she should have refrained from placing the false memory in his head; maybe that would have saved her from the pain. Although it was unlikely since he would strike her for moving too slowly at times. Every month when she bled he would rain down blows on her body. She found herself extremely grateful for her sleeping herbs those days.

Slowly she stepped back out into the tavern's main room. The bruises along her face had faded, but she was certain he had broken a rib; she had bled three days before.

Lexa kept her breathing shallow as she approached the table of regular evening patrons. She inhaled sharply when Emiliano's hand landed on the small of her back.

"They can wait," he breathed in her ear. "Do you see that man over there?" He nodded to a table along the wall.

Lexa didn't have to look to know that Emiliano was smiling softly. To anyone else in the room it would appear as though he were exchanging pleasantries with his wife. She followed his gaze and nodded; he still tightened his fingers around her arm.

"He is a young lord who has taken up lodgings with us for the foreseeable future," Emiliano whispered. "See that he is looked after first."

Lexa swallowed and nodded. She walked as slowly as she could when he released her arm and took shallow breaths. The short walk was used to rake her eyes over the man who would be staying in her home; it was rare when they would take on lodgers. Usually it was just her and Emiliano after the revelers had gone home; that was how she liked it. She didn't have to answer the question of why her husband slept in the sitting room.

He appeared to be around her age; at most she would have said he was a year or two older. He wore his brown hair long and tied back at the nape of his neck; a few strands had fallen loose around his face. His clothes were simple, but even from where she stood she could tell they were of the highest quality. He was sitting down now but she knew when he stood he would tower over her.

"Good evening, milord," Lexa bit her cheek when she poured the wine.

"You must be Senora Acosta," he glanced up from the leather bound book. "I'm surprised to find the lady of the house serving patrons," he did not miss the slight wince when she straightened up.

"It fills my days," she smiled tightly. Her green eyes widened when she met his dark brown ones. She could see exactly what he was in that brief moment.  _Not so young._

He saw her emerald eyes flicker with surprise; her hand tightened around the handle of the wine jug. A vein fluttered wildly in her neck. Her question surprised him.

"Is the title real?" Her eyes narrowed as her head tilted.

"I beg your pardon?" He saw her gaze shift to the blue stone on his finger. "What are you?" A playful smirk lifted the corner of his mouth.

"Just an inn-keepers wife," Lexa shrugged. She winced when the movement sent a stab of pain across her ribs.

"Oh I doubt that," he leaned back. "You're definitely human," his eyes flickered over her face.

"You're not," she accused. She thought of the vervain store she had in the kitchen; she wasn't sure why she continued to grind the flowers and put them in her drinks. He was the first vampire she had seen in nearly three years.

"How do you know that?" His eyes flickered to the ring.

"Sometimes I know things," she smirked.

"And what do you know?"

Lexa considered him. Her eyes flickered from his bright eyes to the cocky smirk on his lips. She probably should have been afraid, but she wasn't. She could tell by looking at him that he was fully capable of extreme acts of violence, that he had committed some recently, but she also knew he would not harm her; though she didn't know why.

Her green gaze snapped back to his dark eyes when he repeated the question.

"What do you know?"

"I know you're older than you look," she murmured. Her head tilted to the side as he lifted the glass to his mouth. "I know you're avoiding some people… family," she saw his eyes widen.

"A witch," he whispered, "How have you not been burnt at the stake?"

"I keep my nature secret," she shrugged.

"You've just revealed it to me," he cocked a heavy eyebrow.

"Somehow," her voice dropped until it was little more than a breath of air between them, "I don't think the vampire will turn me over to the village elders." Lexa saw amusement dance in his eyes. "You haven't answered my question yet: is the title real?"

"Yes," he leaned back in his chair, "Lord Kol Mikaelson."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a terrible liar?" Lexa arched a golden eyebrow.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're cheeky?" Kol tilted his head. "That tongue must get you into all kinds of trouble." He chuckled and shook his head. "The title is very real I assure you, although it was not awarded by birth."

"That's what I thought," her eyes darkened when she caught the narrow gaze of Emiliano. "I have to go. Just… please don't kill the patrons."

Kol sat back in his chair and watched her path. His eyes narrowed when he saw the limp in her gait; he hadn't noticed that when she'd approached him.

* * *

Lexa nibbled on her lip. She could barely keep her eyes open. Her features contorted as she ground the Valerian root with the lavender. A gasp escaped her lips when Emiliano stepped into the storeroom where she was working. She hastily stashed the herbs beneath the worktable and swiped her trembling hand across her brow.

She blinked slowly and stepped back out of his way. She wrung a rag out and started wiping down the smooth wood. She could hear him pouring a mug of ale behind her back; she would have to put the herbs in the next drink.

"Make sure the linens have been changed," he muttered. "Only the best for our  _finest_  patron," his eyes flashed when he caught her gaze.

"Right away," Lexa nodded. She dropped the rag glad for an excuse to get far away from him. She just made out the harsh insult when she hurried passed him: "barren perra."

Her shoes clicked on the narrow stairs as she moved as quickly as she could upwards.

* * *

"Senora," Kol crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. He had just enough time to take in her backside before she stood with the pile of linens. Dark circles ringed her eyes. "I do hope you're about to retire."

"Excuse me?" Lexa tilted her head back. She had been right; he towered above her. Oddly enough she didn't find the height disconcerting, but she knew others did.

"You're exhausted," Kol nodded to her eyes. He could see her arms shaking.

"That's rather rude," she suppressed her yawn.

"I do apologize," he grinned. "I meant no offence. I'm merely concerned for your well-being. I would hate for you to suffer from insomnia."

"That won't be a problem," Lexa tried to roll her eyes but found they were too sore to move; much like the rest of her body. "Good night, milord," she stepped around him, "you'll forgive me if I don't curtsy."

"Goodnight, little witch," Kol chuckled and watched her disappear into a room down the hall.

He had known the woman less than six hours and he found himself fascinated by her. She was clever and feisty, beautiful and sad, fearless and yet afraid. He stood there in the threshold for several moments just listening. He heard the unmistakable sound of heavy fabric falling to the floor before a slim body climbed between the sheets of the bed.

* * *

Lexa yawned and tore off the laces holding her corset closed. She drew in a greedy lungful of air and winced when it sent searing pain across her ribs.

Normally she would have folded the fabric and laid it neatly in the chest, but it was all she could do to climb into the bed. Her eyes were closed before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

She shifted slightly when the bed dipped. Her eyes remained closed however until the blanket was torn off her body. The cold air jolted her awake.

Her stomach heaved when the heavy smell of ale reached her nose.

"Emiliano," she swallowed and scooted as far back as she could. For a moment she thought she was dreaming, but then she remembered the herbs still on the worktable in the storeroom. "Emiliano," her voice turned pleading.

Lexa scrambled out of the bed and backed into the wall. Her eyes darted around frantically. As if from underwater she heard the glass vase shatter when he bumped into the table. His boots crushed the daisy petals underfoot as he advanced.

"Please…" she felt a sob threatening to tear through her throat. Lexa made a desperate attempt to get away from him.

Emiliano reached out and grabbed her elbow. He pulled forcibly on her arm while pushing her face down onto the bed.

She felt it when her arm shifted. Muscle, cartilage and tissue tore as the shoulder was pulled from the socket. Lexa's scream was muffled by the mattress.

* * *

_"Emiliano."_

His eyes snapped open. He was certain he had heard distress in the small voice; the voice that had been full of laughter earlier that day.

_"Please…"_

Kol sat up. He propped himself up on the heels of his palms and listened. It wasn't his business what went on in his host's marriage bed. He couldn't understand why his stomach twisted at the sound of her voice. He didn't know why his blood boiled when he thought of her being harmed.

The scream was what drew him from the room. After seven hundred years he was proficient in interpreting the emotions behind screams. Hers was filled with terror and pain. Before the sound had died in her throat Kol had burst through the door.

Seconds was all it took for him to understand the image. Emiliano Acosta had his screaming wife pinned to the bed. Her arm was bent at an unnatural angle over her back. His other hand was lifting her shift.

Without thinking Kol was across the room. He pinned the man to the wall by his throat and plunged his hand through the soft flesh of his chest. He took little delight in the man's screams before dropping him to the floor.

Kol blinked down at the body and squeezed the heart in his hand. He dropped the organ and watched it role off the man's chest with a wet sound.

He smelt the fear when he took a deep breath and turned around. He knelt beside her on the floor and pulled the edges of her shift back down.

Lexa sobbed. The pain that had been present at first had now faded to something more manageable. Her body trembled when she felt hands pulling her down to kneel on the floor.  _Has he changed his mind?_  She vividly remembered the first time he had forced her to her knees.

Lexa flinched when a strong hand grasped her injured shoulder. She shrieked loudly and tried to pull away, but stopped when the movement burned through her arm.

"Please…" she sobbed. Her eyes snapped open when she heard his soothing voice.

"Relax, little witch," Kol soothed, "he can't hurt you now." A growl rumbled through his throat when he saw the dark bruises across her ribs through the gauzy shift. He instantly regretted killing the man so quickly.

Lexa peered through her tears. The salty tears left tracks down her cheeks and distorted the dark veins under his eyes.

"I need you to hold very still," Kol reached for her arm again. "Your shoulder is dislocated."

"It doesn't hurt that much," Lexa shook her head. "I think its fine." Her features contorted when she tried to move it. "I'll just never move it again."

"Elskling," Kol tipped up her chin. "I can reset it, and heal you. It will hurt, but you'll be perfectly fine soon." His eyes darted to the body. "Physically at least."

Lexa followed his gaze. She couldn't quite describe the emotion she felt when she saw him; a cross between relief and grief. She bit down on her lip before meeting Kol's eyes and nodding.

Warmth spread through her when he took her arm. He rotated it a few times before popping it back into place.

"Dios mio," Lexa gasped. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt fresh tears leak from the corner of her eyes; they clung to her lashes. "I think it's worse now." She whispered.

"It will be better soon," Kol promised. He sat back on his knees and bit into his wrist before offering it to her.

Lexa's eyes grew round when she saw the bloody wrist in front of her face. She lifted her gaze to his face.

"It will heal you," Kol flexed his wrist to keep the wound from closing.

Lexa hesitated. She had never heard of vampires healing people. Wasn't that her job? How did it work? A million questions raced through her head. Was he lying to her? Was he going to kill her?

_No,_  Lexa realized. She met his eyes and nodded.

Sometimes she just knew things, and she knew she could trust him.


	3. 1702 Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.

She had stared in shock at the body until he had lifted her and carried her from the room. She had remained catatonic. In a daze her fingers had traced the blood stains on her shift.

She had only been able to blink when he washed his hands and placed one of his clean shirts in her grasp. Her eyes were distant as she stared at the crisp linen.

He had tried talking to her but it was clear she couldn't hear him. He knew he couldn't leave her in the shift; it was drenched in sweat and covered in blood from where he had touched her.

He didn't think she heard him, but he still told her what he was doing. She didn't protest when he lifted the shift over her head. She didn't flinch away when he wiped the red marks from her shoulder, or when he fitted her arms into the sleeves of his shirt.

She hadn't moved at all until he had laid her down on the bed and moved to leave the room.

He had easily read the panic in her eyes when she grabbed his wrist. He didn't know what it was. She was very aware of the fact that he had killed her husband; anyone else would have screamed. Anyone else would have been petrified after seeing his true face, but she clung to him.

He had taken a seat on the floor beside the bed and held her hand until her eyes had drifted shut. He had remained there until he was certain she was sound asleep.

* * *

Kol tucked the blanket around her chin and listened to the shallow breaths. Unless startled awake she would sleep through the night.

He silently climbed to his feet before setting to work.

There was an added benefit to the swift death. There was very little blood on the floor. Kol had the room clean and the body wrapped in a sheet in under ten minutes. He couldn't remember the last time he had bothered covering his tracks… unless Elijah was nearby and insistent he left the bodies where they were.

He ensured all points of entry into the tavern were sealed before checking on her in his room. He listened to the slow beating of her heart for a moment before jumping from her room's open window.

* * *

Rebekah sighed contentedly before compelling the man to forget what had just happened. She waited until he was stumbling along the path before turning around to return to the estate she shared with her older brothers.

She paused and sniffed the air when she had gone half a mile. There was an unmistakable smell. A body was burning upwind of her. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she considered her options. The body couldn't have been more than a mile away; she could be there in moments. Surely Elijah and Nik wouldn't miss her.

Curiosity got the better of her. She took off at a flash only to pause a few feet inside the treeline of a small clearing. There was another smell beneath the blood and acrid smoke. It was someone she hadn't smelt in years.

"Kol?"

He stepped around the fire at the sound of her voice.

"Good evening, sister," his arms closed around her waist when she flung herself at him.

"You're back," she laughed. "Are you staying long? Elijah and Nik will be so happy to see you."

"I doubt that," Kol snickered. "Not after I left a trail of bodies across the continent. I'm not staying, Bekah. I had no intention of seeing any of you and I would appreciate it if our brothers remained unaware of this meeting."

"You won't even say hello?" Rebekah stepped back. Her hands fell to her hips as she leveled him with a stare.

"I have things to take care of," he shook his head and smiled.

"What are you doing out here?" Rebekah turned to the small bonfire. "It's not like you to cover your tracks."

"Didn't want them finding me," Kol shrugged. The lie fell easily from his tongue; it was half true anyway. "They would have if I'd left a body this close." He cursed himself for not considering how near the clearing was to his siblings home. He had only been concerned with disposing of the remains as far from Cadiz as possible while still giving him enough time to return before she woke.

"This is all of the time I'm going to get?" Rebekah pouted. "How long until I see you again?"

"You know me Rebekah," Kol smirked, "I check in at least twice a century."

* * *

When he returned through the open window four hours had passed. He flashed through the upper floor when he heard the shift in her heart and knelt by the bed.

He stilled her thrashing limbs and smoothed the damp strands of hair from her face.

"Shh, little witch," he murmured, "it's alright… you're alright."

He exhaled and rocked back on his knees when her heart rate slowed back to a peaceful rhythm.

* * *

_"Not too far, ninita," Mama warned, "the water is too deep out there."_

_"Come on, mama," Lexa splashed through the water of the river. She stood on top of a smooth rock and spun around to reach back. "Come swim with me." Her dress weighed heavy around her ankles._

_Mama smiled at Lexa before glancing over her shoulder to the man on the shore._

_Lexa crossed her arms and tapped her tiny foot against the rock impatiently. She wanted to swim. A tiny shriek escaped her lips when she lost her balance on the rock._

_Water crashed over her head. It filled her mouth. It burned her throat. It made her chest feel heavy. She waved her arms and kicked her feet wildly but she had lost any sense of direction; up was down and left was right, forwards and backwards meant nothing to her._

_Her limbs stopped moving as her eyes drifted shut. The cold that had drenched her senses disappeared to be replaced by warmth. If she hadn't known better she would have said she was sitting in front of the fire listening to Papa read._

_Then there was a pressure under her arms. She sputtered and coughed and wrapped her arms tightly around Mama's neck._

_Her body trembled beneath the heavy shawl Tia draped over her shoulders._

_"Shh, ninita," Mama held her tight. "It's alright… you're alright."_

* * *

_Lexa's blond curls flew as she shook her head. Her glass green eyes regarded the river warily._

_"No," she crossed her arms. "No mama. I don't want to." She vividly remembered the water closing over her head._

_"Listen to me, 'Lexa," Mama picked her up, "everything is going to be just fine. Remember how much you love to swim."_

_"Giulia," Papa laid a hand on Mama's shoulder._

_"No, Gabriel," Mama met his eyes. She shook her head before stepping into the river._

_"Mama," Lexa shrieked. She wrapped her arms and legs around Mama's torso. "Mama, no!"_

_"Look," Mama stopped when the water was swirling around her waist._

_"No," Lexa cried._

_"Listen to me, ninita," Mama used one hand to lift her chin. "You can't be afraid forever. You have to try again."_

_"How?" Lexa whimpered._

_"Let's start by dipping your toes," Mama smiled. "Come on 'Lexa." She patted her daughter's knee._

_Lexa's arms shook as she clung to her Mama. Slowly she unwrapped one leg and felt the water lap around her toes. When nothing bad happened she slid her foot into the river. She held her breath when Mama bent her knees so the water twisted around Lexa's waist._

_"Mama?"_

_"I've got you, ninita." She kissed the top of Lexa's head._

_It had taken a good twenty minutes before Lexa let go and started to tread water. A triumphant smile spread over her mouth when her head remained above the surface of the river._

_"Will you promise me something, ninita?"_

_Lexa nodded._

_"Never ever let fear rule your life."_

_"Yes, mama."_

* * *

Lexa's eyes fluttered open. She blinked against the morning light and rolled over to focus on the daisies on her bureau. She bolted up right when she was greeted by the sight of a leather bound book. She was in the guest room on the west side of the tavern; the light was that of the afternoon.

Slowly the events of the previous evening came back to her. She rolled her arm when she remembered the pain of her shoulder being torn from its socket. She took a deep breath when there was no pain. Involuntarily her body flinched. She had been expecting the searing pain.

When it didn't come she lifted her hand to her ribs. Her eyes dropped to the thick material of a man's shirt; it was soft under her fingers. When she stood it fell below her knees.

She experimentally bent her knees and elbows, rolled her neck and ankles and twisted her hips. She moved this way and that only to find her body free of pain. It had been years since she felt this good.

She hooked a finger beneath the chain around her neck and toyed with the jade as she tiptoed down the hall. She blinked when she found the bedchamber spotless. The blankets had been rearranged. A new vase of fresh daisies sat on her bureau. There was no sign anything horrific had ever transpired there. Was it all a dream?

Pushing up the sleeves of the shirt she slipped down the stairs. Her pace quickened when she found the bar room empty. The deadbolts were still in place over the door. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Bit by bit images came back to her: Emiliano forcing her into the mattress, the vampire, Kol, resetting her shoulder and healing her, and finally the dead body of her husband.

Try as she might she couldn't remember how she had ended up in the guest room in a clean shirt.

She jumped when he materialized in front of her. She covered her pounding heart with her hand and gasped.

"I'm sorry," he lifted his hands, palms out; "I did not intend to frighten you."

"Really?" She glared. "You didn't mean to frighten me? How do people usually react when you appear in front of them?"

Kol's eyes flickered over her tight jaw. "Typically they are more afraid then you." He smirked when her green eyes blazed. "Are you afraid of me, little witch?"

Lexa stepped back so she could relax her neck muscles. "No," she shook her head. "I am not afraid of you."

"You should be," Kol's smirk fell.

"Maybe," Lexa shrugged, "but I'm not. I think if you were going to hurt me you would have done it by now." Her memory finished filling in. He'd had plenty of opportunities the previous night; he could have raped her, he could have killed her, but he had cleaned her up and put her to bed. She could only assume he had cleaned her room.

"I'm not going to hurt you, little witch," Kol motioned for her to sit. He placed some food and a steaming mug of tea in front of her a moment later.

Lexa blinked at the food. She could smell the peppermint rising from the mug. "What do you want from me?" Her eyes lifted to his face.

"How about your name?" Kol slid into the seat across from her.

"That's it?" Lexa blinked. In her experience everyone always wanted something.

"I'd also like to know you're alright," Kol leaned back, "but I'll start with your name."

There was a pregnant pause before she reached for the mug. "Alexandria Ricci."

Kol made no comment on what he could only assume was her maiden name. He couldn't blame her for wanting to distance herself from the man. "Is that what people call you? Alexandria? It's a bit of a mouthful, Elskling."

"My family called me 'Lexa," she closed her eyes and sipped the tea.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Kol smiled, "Lexa."

* * *

"It's not going to work," Lexa crossed her arms. She glared at the line of salt.

"Well not with that attitude," Kol smirked.

It had been three weeks since he'd killed Emiliano Acosta. In that time he had learned several things. One, Lexa held no attachment to the man. Two, she was a powerful witch who had lacked any proper tutelage; everything she had done was a variant of a healing spell. And three, she was a very stubborn woman.

"Tell me," Kol changed the subject, "why did your aunt not teach you this? It's one of the earliest I learned."

"You were a warlock?" Lexa's eyes widened.

Kol caught the scent of lavender when she ran her fingers through her hair; it seemed to always cling to her.

"I was," he smiled sadly. "Let me tell you it was utterly devastating being cut off from nature when I transitioned."

"You didn't have to turn," Lexa shook her head.

"I didn't get much say in the matter," Kol frowned at the memory. He had barely been able to sit up when his father had forced the girl's blood down his throat.

"You miss it terribly," Lexa placed her hands on the table.

"I do," Kol nodded. He mirrored Lexa's action and leaned closer. "Now the closest I get to magic is spending time with witches."

"I'm sorry."

"You're apologizing to me?" Kol gaped.

Lexa shrugged. "I am," she murmured. "I may not know many spells, but I do know that I'd be heartbroken if I woke up one day and had no magic. I can only imagine how you felt."

"I can't even begin to imagine how you've felt," Kol's eyes flashed when he remembered her body pinned down.

"I honestly," she chewed her lip, "was beginning to feel somewhat safe again."

"How could you have possibly been feeling safe?" Kol tilted his head.

"He hadn't touched me in over a year," she admitted.

"I saw the broken ribs Lexa," his eyes narrowed.

"I said he hadn't touched me," Lexa snapped. "I didn't say he hadn't beaten me. That happened at least once a month." She blinked back tears when she remembered the way he had kicked her.

Kol was around the table in an instant. His hand settled on her shoulder; after what he knew she had endured it was still a shock that she did not recoil from his touch.

"I forgot the herbs," she whispered. "I fell asleep and forgot the herbs."

"What herbs, little witch?" Kol watched her reach beneath the work table. His eyes widened when he saw the remnants of the powder that would have sent the man into a deep sleep; enough of it might have killed him. "You put him to sleep every night?"

She nodded. "He hadn't set foot in that room in a year," her voice was low. "I altered his memories of the evening so he was none the wiser."

"You can alter a memory, but you can't ignite a line of salt?" Kol snickered.

"Are you mocking me?" Lexa couldn't stop the small smile.

"It did get you to laugh," Kol grinned. "And laughter is the best medicine."

"I'm not sick," Lexa laughed.

Kol couldn't shake the feeling that her laughter was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

"Are you going to tell me?" He stepped back and nodded to the salt when her laughter died. "Why didn't your aunt teach you?"

"She wanted to," Lexa sighed. "What's the incantation again?" She turned back to the salt a second later. " _Phasmatus ignitium dos ex salvo…"_

Kol's head snapped around when the fire started. Typically it took a few rounds of the incantation to start a spark, but she had done it in one.

"I thought you said it wouldn't work?" His eyebrows shot up.

"I had no reason to think it would."

Kol smothered the fire with a cloth and ran his eyes over her flushed face. Number four, she was more powerful than she knew.

* * *

_She stood outside the door and clutched her doll to her chest. Tia was arguing with Papa again._

_Tia and Papa always argued. Without Mama to stand between them their voices had easily reached her in her bed._

_"She has so much potential."_

_Lexa peeked through the keyhole. She saw Tia's rings gesturing wildly in the light from the fire._

_"She should be learning all that she can now," Tia hissed, "it's easier when they're young."_

_"No," Papa snapped. "I don't want her anywhere near it. It's dangerous Sylvie. What you do is dangerous. Three accusations is all it takes… three!"_

_"Walking down the path is dangerous," Tia shouted. Her shoes stomped over the oak floors. "Swimming is dangerous. Everything is dangerous."_

_"I'll not have my daughter burned at the stake." Papa shouted._

_Lexa heard the sob tear through his throat. "She's all I have left, Sylvie."_


	4. 1702 Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I do not own TVD or TO.  
> I had originally planned to write a chapter for Historical Royalty tonight as well, but it got late. There's always tomorrow.

She blinked sleepily and leaned towards the fire. Kol had been teaching her a spell to revive dead vegetation when thunder had rumbled in the distance. They had gotten caught in a June rainstorm that had quickly soaked through their clothing despite him flashing her into the tavern.

She had quickly stripped out of her heavy layers when the shivers started racing down her spine while Kol had built up the fire. She might have been embarrassed sitting with him in her shift and corset, but the knowledge that he had seen her in much less made her quite comfortable; at least everything was still covered.

"Can I ask you something?" He draped a blanket over her trembling shoulders to help ward off the chill.

Lexa startled when his smooth voice broke the calm. She lifted her eyes from the crackling fire and nodded. Outside the whistling wind beat the rain against the window panes. Lilac and honeysuckle drifted upwards from the hearth. She had been on the verge of falling asleep in front of the fire when he'd spoken.

"You mentioned that your aunt was a witch," he dropped to sit beside her.

"That's not a question," her eyes tracked the path of a water droplet leaving his hair.

"You're cheeky," he shook his head.

"That's a statement," she giggled, "and it's already been established." Lexa gasped when he leaned over and shook some of the water from his hair over her head. "My hair is going to be a mess now."

"A little more water won't hurt," he laughed.

"What was your question?" She made a show of wringing out her curls.

"Why didn't she teach you?"

Lexa hesitated. She sat up straight and let her hair fall back over her shoulders. "She wanted to," her teeth drew her lip into her mouth, "but my father was against it. He was afraid I'd be burnt."

Kol tilted his head to one side. From what he had heard of her aunt he was surprised she hadn't taught her in secret. He hadn't had magic in centuries, but even he could tell Lexa had potential; she might have given him a run for his money back in his human days.

"In my experience most women don't let men tell them what to do."

"She didn't," her smile was fond. "Aunt Sylvie did teach me. I was the reluctant one. Papa had already lost Mama and my baby brother. He was afraid he would lose me too. Aunt Sylvie taught me, but I'd only consent to learning about herbs." Tears glistened in her eyes. "When Papa died a four years ago she tried again, but even she recognized the danger then. People were accusing neighbors left and right of witchcraft… officials weren't waiting for the proper number of accusations; that's how I lost Tia. I swore off magic then… until I needed it, but even then it was little things."

"You were afraid."

"I was afraid," she nodded. She blinked when he wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

"What changed?" Kol searched her eyes. "Why are you letting me teach you now?"

She inhaled and closed her eyes. "I remembered a promise I made years ago," she whispered, "after I nearly drowned as a child." She laid her head on his chest and watched the fire while he smoothed down her hair. Quietly she told him of her mother and the time she had forced her back into the water. "I'm done being afraid…" her eyes drifted shut under the smooth strokes of his hand, "… I don't want to ever feel that way again."

Kol tightened his arms around her shoulders; a determined gleam entered his eyes. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, Lexa."

She didn't know why her lower lip trembled with her next thought. "You won't always be here."

_The hell I won't!_ "I'm immortal, little witch," he smirked. "You'd have a hard time getting rid of me."

"Promise?" She slipped off into a dreamless sleep before he could respond.

* * *

"I cannot be certain," Kol tilted his head, "but I think your bed might be more comfortable." He bent at the waist so his upper body flooded her field of vision.

"Perhaps," she smiled, "but the view here is much better."

"I'm flattered, little witch," the corner of his mouth quirked up.

Lexa tipped her head back against the ground. The crisp smell of the grass reached her nose. Emerald green eyes scrutinized him. She would have been lying if she said he was not pleasing to the eye.

"I was not actually referring to you," a smile danced over her lips.

"I would like to think I'm more attractive than the night sky," Kol chuckled.

"When was the last time you actually looked at the night sky?" Lexa lifted an eyebrow. She wasn't sure why he was so easy to talk to. Her experience with the opposite sex had been limited at best; restricted to her father and her husband. She was comfortable when he was near. She was at peace; something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Kol's eyebrows rose at her question. His mouth popped open as he considered the inquiry. When was the last time he had observed the stars? He couldn't remember. "I don't know," he blinked.

"Well then," Lexa motioned beside her, "there's plenty of grass." She half expected him to laugh.

Kol nodded. He dropped to the ground and stretched out along her right side. He knew she was expecting him to look heavenward, but he found his gaze locked on her profile; her skin shone under the light of the crescent moon.

"When was the last time you gazed upon the night sky?" Kol draped an arm over his stomach.

Starlight glittered in her eyes as she turned to look at him. "How do you know I don't do this every night?"

"You haven't for the past month," his brows knit together. "Something in your eyes…" Kol trailed off. "It's been awhile."

"It's been awhile," she nodded. "Though  _you_  probably wouldn't consider it a long time."

"How long?" He tilted his head when her eyes took on a haunted look. "Lexa?"

"Thirteen years," she sighed. Lexa rolled her eyes heavenward before he could see the glossy sheen. "I used to lay out at night with my parents."

"You were close to your parents?"

She nodded. "Weren't you?"

"No," he frowned. "My mother made me what I am, and my father has been hunting my siblings and I ever since."

"He's a…"

"Vampire," Kol nodded. "Mother immediately regretted what she had done."

* * *

_"Do you see that one, ninita?" Papa pointed to a group of stars._

_"That looks like me," Lexa giggled._

_"How is that, 'Lexa?" Mama ran her fingers through her curls._

_"It looks like me," she flopped over on her belly and sprawled out her arms and legs. "It's me sleeping," she gave her mama a lopsided grin. "Is it called Alexandria, Papa?" She rolled back over._

_"No," Papa laughed, "those stars form the constellation Taurus."_

_"What's that?"_

* * *

They had lapsed into silence after Kol had opened up about his family history. She had reached for his hand when he'd finished; unable to come up with a suitable response she had simply squeezed his palm.

Lexa pointed to the array of stars overhead. "I used to think that one looked like me."

"Taurus?" Kol followed her hand. "You thought you looked like a bull, little witch?"

"No," she nudged him with her elbow. "Not the bull… the stars. When I was a child I used to sleep on my stomach." She grinned. "I'd sprawl out with my arms above my head. If you look at the line of stars… it kind of looks like someone sprawled out to sleep."

He followed the line her finger drew. "I can see that," he gave her a half smile. "You, however, look nothing like Taurus. Perhaps Persephone…"

"Who?" Lexa met his eyes.

"I thought you said your father told you the stories?"

"He did," Lexa nodded. "Zeus carried away a Phoenician princess to marry her. He disguised himself as a white bull… and the bull became the constellation."

"I heard a different story," Kol's eyes found the constellation again.

"What is it?" Lexa propped herself up on her elbow.

He chuckled when he saw the hunger in her eyes. He mentally added it to the list he was keeping: she was eager to learn new things.

"You want to hear it?" Kol teased.

"Of course," her eyes glittered. She rolled completely onto her side to watch him.

"Alright," Kol nodded. "The story began with a wandering bull known as Cerus; he was large and powerful, and all of the villagers were terrified of him."

"Why?" Lexa's eyes flickered over his face.

His fingers absentmindedly traced the stars. "He was wild," the corner of his mouth turned up, "and he had a tendency to trample their villages on a whim. Nobody knew where he came from. Many people thought he was immortal because of his size and strength."

"That seems rather silly."

"They also couldn't stop him." He turned his head to meet her inquisitive eyes. "As I said, he was wild and out of control. He followed his emotions on a whim."

"And how does Persephone fit into this? Who was she?" In the distance she could hear the distinct sound of a bat's wings.

"Persephone," he grinned, "was the goddess of spring." His arm brushed hers when he rolled onto his side.

Warmth spread through her.

"And what did Persephone do?"

"She found him. She found him trampling through the new flowers, and she went to him. He couldn't understand her of course."

"Of course," she nodded solemnly, "being a bull."

"Her presence calmed him," Kol continued. "They formed a bond together, and the bull… he learned to behave himself."

Lexa bent her knee slightly and brushed his leg. "What happened next?"

Kol inhaled the soft smell of lavender. "She taught him patience." The sweet smell was intoxicating, and drew him closer to her. "She taught him how to use his strength wisely. Whenever she returned to the land so would he. She would sit upon his back while he ran through the fields; she would set all of the plants in bloom. Then in the fall when it was time to return to the Underworld Cerus would take to the sky to await her return."

"He became the Taurus constellation," Lexa murmured. "I think I like that version better."

Kol lifted his hand to brush a loose curl back from her face. He heard her breath catch when his finger's grazed over the shell of her ear.

Her eyes fell to his wrist when he didn't remove his hand. She could just make out the smell of the herbs he had helped her grind earlier. Her fingers gently ran over the blue veins in his wrist.

"I meant to ask," she saw gooseflesh rise on his arm, "how I woke up uninjured?"

"That was my blood, Elskling," Kol felt his abdomen quiver at her touch. The desire to feel her lips under his was almost overwhelming.

"But how?" Lexa peaked at him through her lashes. She blinked when she found him inches from her face. "How did your blood heal me?" She swallowed and exhaled.

"Magic," his cool breath fanned across her chin. "Vampire blood heals humans."

Lexa leaned into his hand when he cupped her cheek. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw his eyes flicker to her mouth. Her tongue poked out to wet her lip.

He stroked her cheekbone with his thumb and carded his fingers through her blond curls. He paused a hairsbreadth from her lips and waited a moment to see if she would push him away.

Her fingers splayed over his chest. His heart beat fast under her hand. Lexa knew what was coming, but the experience was new to her. She had grown up believing kissing to be the prelude to sex, so she had been surprised when Emiliano had never kissed her. She never wanted to experience that kind of pain again, but she found she wanted him to kiss her.

She allowed her eyes to drift closed as she nodded once. A spark ran down her spine when his lips brushed over her mouth softly. She sighed when his hand slid down her back and pulled her closer. She didn't know what it was about Kol, but whenever he touched her she felt a fire ignite under her skin; his mouth moving gently against hers was raising heat in her stomach. It was a foreign feeling, but not in the least unpleasant.

She broke the kiss a few moments later. She wasn't sure how much time had passed. She wasn't sure how she ended up half on top of him with her leg between his knees. She wasn't sure when his other hand had found its way into her hair.

"You're blushing," Kol trailed his hand down her spine.

"No, I'm not," she gasped.

"You are," he teased. "Do I make you feel uncomfortable, Elskling?"

"No," she shook her head. "After everything I've been through you probably should, but you don't."

"Then why are you blushing?" He wrapped a curl around his finger. "Why can't you look at me?"

"Because…" she swallowed, "… nobody's ever…"

"Kissed you?" His strong hands stilled on her petite frame when she drew her swollen lip between her teeth. "I find that hard to believe."

"You find it hard to believe that my husband never kissed me?" She cocked her head.

"Oh no," Kol frowned, "that I believe. I find it hard to believe no one else has. A beautiful woman like you must have had suitors lined up outside your door."

"No suitors," Lexa shook her head. "I spent most of my time with my aunt before getting married; midwifery did not leave much time for cou…" her eyes grew round, "… beautiful?"

"Yes," he beamed up at her. His fingers lifted her chin when she tried to look away. "You are gorgeous," he kissed her cheek, "positively radiant," he punctuated each compliment with a kiss before finally meeting her lips again, "you have the brightest eyes I have ever seen; they glitter like emeralds. I do adore your mouth as well… especially when you're making a clever comment."

"Most men hate that," she breathed. Her slim fingers grazed his stubble before carding them into his hair.

"I'm not most men."

"No," she laughed, "you're definitely not."

Lexa smiled before leaning down to shyly brush her lips over his again. They only broke apart when thunder rumbled above their heads.

Kol walked her to her bedroom door after the entrance had been sealed. He lifted her chin with his knuckle and kissed her again.

"What, pray tell, do you find so amusing?" Kol cocked an eyebrow when she shook with laughter.

"I told you I've never been kissed before," she pressed her lips together to temper the mirth, "and your response is to kiss me repeatedly."

"Well," he chuckled and kissed her forehead, "I'm just making up for all of the kisses you've missed."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Good night, Kol," her hand pushed open the door.

"Goodnight, little witch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking the next chapter or the one after that will have some smut in it...


	5. 1702 Part 4

Kol paused halfway across the tavern floor. He could see her outside; she was kneeling in the garden harvesting herbs and putting them in the basket at her side.

It was the enchanting voice that had the edges of his mouth lifting into a soft smile. She was singing an old folk song about the colours of spring. He leaned against the door frame and watched her quietly.

His head cocked to one side. Harsh voices reached him from the path in the forest.

_"The place has been closed down for over a month."_

_"You're sure it's empty?"_

_"People have seen the wife, but nobody has seen the husband. If anyone is there it's the one woman; should be easy enough for the taking."_

Kol growled at the implication. He had easily made out the double entendre. Without thinking he shifted his daylight ring to his left hand and stepped into the sunlight when the group of men paused at the edge of the path. He knew they had seen him when the first man told them to wait.

 _"I thought you said the husband was missing?"_ A short man with tied back blond hair hissed.

 _"I thought he was,"_  the taller of the trio muttered.

He rolled up his sleeves and silently knelt beside her.

Lexa shivered. Her voice cut off when his hand landed on the small of her back. "Good morning."

 _"Doesn't matter,"_  the third man pulled a short dagger from his waist. "It's still just the two of them."

"Good morning," he leaned over so his breath tickled her ear. He slid his left hand across the back of her neck. "Tell me, Elskling…" he saw one of the men glance at the glittering gold on his hand, "… are the majority of locals on vervain?"

Lexa tilted her head. The herbs in her hand dropped onto her skirt. "I don't believe so," her eyes darted to the small patch of purple flowers, "why do you ask?" She assumed he had been leaving in the middle of the night to feed, shouldn't he have known that? "Haven't you been feeding on the locals?"

"No," Kol chuckled. "I go quite far away."

"Can't be bothered anymore?" Lexa's brows arched.

"It would be more convenient," Kol pulled a curl from her braid, "but that is not why I'm asking." His dark eyes shifted to where the thieves were arguing. "There are three men planning on  _robbing_ you in the trees," his eyes narrowed, "I didn't think you would approve of me killing them."

She followed his gaze toward the path. She could just make out a long shadow over the ground. "The only vervain is grown in this garden," she murmured.

"In that case," Kol brushed his lips over her cheek, "I'll be right back."

* * *

Lexa's skirts rustled as she shook off the dried grasses. "What exactly did you do to them?"

He drummed his fingers on the table and watched her tie the herbs into small bundles. "I compelled them, little witch. As long as someone is free of vervain I can use compulsion to control their mind."

"Is that why Aunt Sylvie always told me to carry vervain?" Lexa left a few inches of twine on each bundle. "I thought it only made blood toxic."

"It does that too."

Lexa's eyes sparkled. She peeked up at him through her thick lashes. "Have you ever compelled me?"

"Of course not," Kol flashed around the table. "I would never do that. Even if I wanted to I couldn't; you are on vervain."

Her gaze fell to her busy hands.

"Lexa," Kol took her shoulder and gently turned her, "you are on vervain?"

She shook her head. "I stopped taking it a few weeks ago," she chewed her lip.

"Why the bloody hell would you do that?"

"I trust you," she stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm not the only vampire in the area, Lexa," Kol seethed. "There are others who would compel you without a second thought. You should be on vervain all the time."

Lexa took a deep breath and sighed. She spun on her heel and walked into the garden. She returned with a small handful of purple blossoms. Pulling her necklaces from under her blouse she opened the locket and placed the blossoms inside.

"Happy now?" She dropped the silver locket and jade pendant onto her chest.

"Ecstatic," he sighed, "please don't take that off."

"I never do," she fingered the silver circle. She picked up a bundle of herbs and stepped around him to the hearth.

Kol pushed the stool out of her reach and pulled the herbs from her hands.

"Hey," she cried. Her hands settled on her hips as she tilted her head to glare at him.

Kol smirked and tied the herbs from the wooden bar hanging from the ceiling. "Can you even reach this high, Elskling?" He easily caught the lavender she chucked at him.

"Are you calling me short?" She took a menacing step forwards so she had to crane her neck to look at him.

"I would never say that, Elskling," Kol's fingers ghosted over her arms. He took hold of her hands and lifted them over her head as high as they could go. "I'm merely asking if you can reach the bar," his eyes sparkled when her hands stopped a good distance from the tied bundle of rue.

She tilted her head back to glare at the ceiling. She gritted her teeth before jumping.

The rue shook as her fingers managed to swat it; the bar shifted slightly with the force of her hand.

Lexa stumbled when her feet hit the floor again. She attempted to suppress her laughter but failed when he lifted her hips and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"How about now, little witch?" Kol tipped his head back. He had her pressed against him so that her head was a few inches above his.

Lexa lifted one hand from his shoulder and grasped the wood above her head. She giggled when she caught his eyes. "I can reach," she grinned.

"You just needed a little help," Kol chuckled. He kissed her jaw.

"I could have easily stood on a chair," she tightened her hold on the bar. A small gasp escaped her full lips when his arms pulled her closer.

"Now that's dangerous," Kol laughed.

"Whereas being held by a vampire is safe," she smirked.

"It's impossible for you to slip and fall," he stared into her laughing eyes.

She released the bar and wrapped both arms around his neck. "I think I could very easily fall," her soft breath fanned across his chin.

Lexa blinked and they were halfway across the room. She felt the work table when she was sat on top of it.

Kol stepped between her legs. His eyes flickered over her pale face; a few freckles spread across her nose.

A fever flared under her skin. She cupped either side of his neck when he kissed her and wrapped her legs around his waist.

Lexa sighed into his mouth when his tongue slipped between her lips. Her heart thumped while heat curled down her spine. She struggled to breath when he broke away to kiss her throat.

"K-kol," she hummed. Her flesh tingled under his lips.

He could smell her arousal where it pooled between her thighs. A groan caught in his throat. Blunt teeth scraped over her carotid artery and drew a soft moan from her parted lips.

Overcome with the desire to feel him closer she tightened her legs. Her head began to swim from lack of oxygen when his hand ran along her thigh.

Kol forced himself to back away when he heard her labored breathing. Another smell rose under her skin and sweetened her blood.

"I can't," she clung to his neck and gasped, "I c-can't br-breathe." Her fingers tugged at her collar. "… damn corset…" Her eyes fluttered closed.

He caught her before she could fall and laid her down. The cotton blouse ripped under his hands.


	6. 1702 Part 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.  
> SMUT warning. This chapter is primarily smut until the first line break

Lexa blinked.

The room slowly came into focus. She propped herself up and blushed when she saw her blouse and corset had been ripped open. The fabric hung on either side of her torso. She adjusted the neckline of her shift when it slipped.

“You are most definitely tying that too tight,” Kol helped her sit up. He propped her against a pillow and lifted a glass of water to her lips.

She drew in an unrestricted breath and swallowed a mouthful of water. “Thank you,” she sighed. “I don’t usually tie it that tight.” Her finger ran round the rim of the cup.

“Is there another reason you couldn’t breathe, Lexa?” He took the glass and placed it on the table by the bed. He made sure not to touch her when he sat down.

“I…” She chewed on her lip. Her fingers picked at the loose threads of her ruined blouse. “It was hard to breathe, and then I-I got scared.” She cast her eyes to the vase of daisies.

“Why were you afraid, little witch?” His gaze dropped to the mark he had left on her neck. He was fairly certain he already knew; some scars took years to heal.

“I…” She took a deep breath. A flush rose in her cheeks and along her neck. “It always hurt,” she sighed. She drew her legs to her chest and propped her chin on her knees. “Every time he would…” she shook her head, “… it always hurt. I-I knew where things were headed and I-I thought it would hurt.”

Rage boiled in his veins. “Would I be correct in assuming he never took the time to… prepare you?”

Her knitted brows were more than enough of an answer.

“I wonder if there is a way to bring him back,” Kol growled. “I’d love to kill him again slowly.”

“Why?” Lexa lifted her eyes. She was not overly opposed to the suggestion.

“Because of what he did to you,” he took her hand and entwined their fingers. “It’s not supposed to hurt, Lexa. You should have never been subjected to him.”

“I want to believe you…” she stared at their joined hands.

“Experience has told you otherwise,” Kol leaned forward. He brushed his lips over her brow and stood up.

Lexa shifted to kneel on the mattress and caught his wrist. Her fingers splayed over his chest when he spun back to face her. “It won’t hurt?”

Kol covered her hand with his and met her shy gaze. “It should not hurt.”

“If it does,” she whispered, “can we stop?”

“Lexa?” He cupped her cheek. “We don’t have to do this at all, love.”

She blinked slowly and exhaled. “I want to.”

“Are you sure, darling?” He brushed his thumb over her jaw. Her heart remained steady as she nodded. “Promise me one thing first. You’ll tell me the second you’re uncomfortable in any way; I don’t want you to faint again.” His heart had dropped into his stomach when she had swayed in his arms.

“I promise.”

Kol nodded once before lowering his lips to hers in a slow kiss. He pulled the remnants of her ruined blouse from her skirt before sliding it and her corset down her arms.

Lexa sighed when his lips lavished attention on her throat. Her sigh turned to a breathy moan when teeth nibbled at her ear. Her abdomen quivered beneath his roaming fingers. She slowly unbuttoned his vest and pushed it down his shoulders.

He smirked when her eyes raked over his chest after he removed his shirt. A shiver travelled the length of his spine; her lips peppered soft kisses over his throat.

Lexa tilted her head when he lifted her to stand on the floor. Her fingers threaded through his hair when he knelt in front of her.

Kol popped the buttons on her heavy skirt so it pooled around her feet. Her pulse quickened when his fingers slid up her legs slowly lifting the white shift.

He pressed her to sit on the edge of the bed.

Heat pooled low in her abdomen. It grew in intensity under his lips slow passage up her inner thighs.

Her blood raced through her veins. He felt the artery flutter beneath his lips and took a steadying breath. Kol met her lidded eyes; he marveled at the level of trust he saw there.

A loud gasp fell from her mouth. Soft moans reverberated in her chest with each pass of his tongue. He was focusing his attention on the bundle of nerves between her thighs. For the life of her she couldn’t remember what it was called, but she could remember her aunt showing her how to use it to aid in childbirth. She doubted the labouring mothers had found the pressure this pleasurable.

Her teeth dug into her lip as the spring that had been coiling in her belly snapped. She tugged his hair and blushed when she felt fluid run down between her lips.

Kol eagerly caught the sweet elixir and ran his tongue over his extended canines while rocking back on his knees. “You taste exquisite, Elskling.”

Lexa opened her eyes to look at him. The capillary veins under his intense eyes were pulsating wildly. She swallowed and traced the sensitive area with her thumb. “Are you alright?”

“Perfectly fine,” he murmured. His hands grazed her hips as he pulled her shift over her head.

“Is… oh,” she moaned when he laved kisses from her abdomen to her breasts. Her stomach trembled when he sucked her erect nipple into his mouth; his fingers expertly manipulated her other breast.

“I do apologize, little witch,” he left wet kisses across the valley of her breasts, “I distracted you.” He smirked when his teeth grazed her nipple and she moaned.

“You’re not… oh dios mio…” she chewed her lip, “not s-sorry.” She could feel his smirk against her chest.

Kol chuckled.

A yelp escaped her lips when he nipped a little too hard. She felt something sharp and gasped in a mixture of pleasure and pain.

Kol pulled back and blinked at the dark red blood dripping from the puncture wound over her nipple. He hadn’t meant to bite her, but his teeth had pierced her skin when he chuckled. “I’m so sorry, Elskling.”

“It’s alright,” Lexa tilted her head to inspect the damage. A bead of blood was running down her breast. She lifted her eyes to his when he bit into his thumb; her wound closed when he rubbed a drop of his blood into the small cut. “If you’re going to do that again… warn me.”

“I never intended to…”

Lexa cut him off by placing a finger over his lips. “I know,” she lent and kissed the area beneath his eyes, “but you did… and since it’s there.”

“You are…” he breathed against her lips, “… an enigma.”

“Is that a good thing?” She swallowed when he licked the trail of blood and moved on to worship her neck.

“I do love a bit of mystery,” he nipped her ear. “What were you going to ask me earlier before I rudely interrupted you?”

Lexa thought back. “I was going to ask if that was what you meant by ‘prepare’.” She pulled the buttons of his light trousers.

“When I was ruthlessly pleasuring you with my mouth?” He grinned.

“Mmhmm,” she nodded.

“No,” he stood and stepped out of his trousers, “that was purely for your enjoyment.”

“Aren’t you supposed to enjoy this too?” Lexa wrapped her arms around his neck when he lifted her.

“Believe me, Lexa, I enjoyed that immensely.” He stretched out beside her and did his best to ignore the throb in his groin; he could wait. “I am thoroughly enjoying bringing you pleasure.”

“Not that I didn’t like that,” she ran her fingers down his toned stomach, “because I did, but what did you mean.”

She gasped when his hand came down between her thighs and his fingers swirled around her bundle of nerves. Her legs fell open and her hips rose off the bed.

He slowly penetrated her core with a finger. He added a second and a third when he knew she could take it and pumped. “I meant this,” he crooked his fingers and pressed her clit with his thumb.

The expression of discomfort that had been present on her face at the start of each penetration slowly morphed into one of need.

He continued to finger her until he felt her thighs tremble and her walls flutter. Withdrawing his hand he adjusted her necklaces before leaning down to kiss the corner of her mouth.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Elskling?” He lifted her chin with his knuckle. She had been tight around his fingers and he knew the initial penetration would be uncomfortable.

Lexa hesitated when her eyes fell to his straining arousal. She closed her eyes and nodded hoping her body would adjust as she had to his fingers.

“Then sit up.”

“What?” She blinked. Lexa propped herself on her elbows when he sat with his back to the wall.

“Sit up,” Kol guided her until she straddled his thighs, “it will be easier for you like this.” He groaned when he lined himself up with her entrance and she slowly impaled herself on his shaft.

Lexa closed her eyes tightly when he was a few inches inside of her. She waited for the discomfort to pass before moving down further. Within moments he was buried in her wet sheath.

A low growl ripped through his throat when she started to move. His hands wandered her curves while his mouth met hers in a sensual kiss that set his blood on fire.

Her little grunts and pleasure filled moans were music to his ears.

Her pace slowed and stuttered as she quivered in his arms. A feeling of bliss overcame her when he shifted them so she was lying on her back.

Kol wrapped her legs high around his waist and thrust into her at a pace that had her quickly building to another orgasm.

“Don’t close your eyes, Lexa,” he murmured against her cheek.

She opened her eyes and gasped when he shifted her hips. The new angle had him hitting the spot he had lavished attention on earlier with his fingers. She kept her eyes open as her vision faded around the edges.

She had drowned once as a child; she had lost any sense of direction in the experience. Every sense had gone numb as ice had poured through her veins. She felt much like she had then only it was fire racing through her body while the water crashed over her head and all other senses were lost. When she returned to her own consciousness she managed to tighten her trembling limbs around his body.

His jaw clenched. He could feel his own release lingering at the base of his spine. His thrusts quickly lost any rhythm he’d had. He brought their mouths together in a long kiss when he stilled and spilled inside her.

Lexa’s chest rose and fell rapidly when he withdrew and rolled to lie beside her again.

Kol watched her body calm down before running his finger down her cheek and turning her face to him. “Did that hurt?”

She shook her head and frowned. “Is there a way to bring him back?”

“Missing your husband already, little witch?” Kol cocked an eyebrow.

“No,” she shook with a laugh, “I’d just like to kill him again… slowly.”

“I’m going to take that as a no,” Kol draped a quilt over them before she shivered.

Lexa rolled over and splayed her fingers over his beating heart. “It didn’t hurt,” she chewed on her lip, “can we do that again?”

“Would you like a chance to rest first?” He pulled the ties from her hair and loosened her braid.

* * *

 

He watched her delicate features. Since that first day he had spent in the tavern he had watched as the muscles of her face slowly relaxed, but nothing compared to how she looked when she slept.

Sprawled out on the bed, completely sated, she was glorious. He still marveled at the trust she displayed in him. He’d had lovers before but never before had one trusted him as she did. She allowed him to see her at her most vulnerable.

The moonlight shone through the open window. A warm July breeze lifted the curls around her face and brought a flush to her skin. She was radiant, perfect, and his.

He carefully bent and pressed his lips to her shoulder. “I love you, little witch,” he murmured against her porcelain skin.

Kol’s hand trailed lazily up and down her spine. He had taken to sleeping beside her every night after the first time she had given herself to him. Initially he had attempted to give her space, but his dreams had been haunted by visions of them together in her bed.

He knew he loved her. For seven hundred years he had thought himself incapable of ever feeling this way. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and needed to be close to her. The only way he could get a decent night’s sleep was by knowing she was safe in his arms.

“Are you watching me sleep again?” Lexa lifted her head of messy curls and gave him a sleep softened smile.

“Yes,” he chuckled. “Can you blame me? There is a beautiful goddess sprawled beside me. What else can I do but stare?”

“A goddess, hmm?” She pushed her curls out of her face and rolled onto her side exposing her bare breasts to his gaze. “Let me guess: Aphrodite brought to life?”

“No, not Aphrodite,” he ran his eyes over her naked form. “You, my little witch, are Persephone made flesh, and I dread the coming winter when you will be torn from my arms.”

Lexa grasped the back of his neck and smiled cheekily. “Lucky for you this is an endless summer,” she stretched and brushed her mouth over his.

“Winter always comes eventually, Elskling,” he smiled sadly.

“It doesn’t have to,” she blinked and laid her head over his heart. “I love you, too, by the way.”


	7. 1702 Part 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.  
> I'm sorry everyone but it was time. I put in some bittersweet Lol though to sustain you all.

After seven hundred years he had discovered that his body did not require much sleep. A few hours a night was more than enough to sustain him.

She was different. Her body needed more rest; especially after he had spent hours tiring it out. She would usually drift off in his arms. He would then spend however long it took him to fall asleep marvelling at the beauty at his side. She was sweet and pure, and she loved him. He had certainly done nothing to deserve her, and yet he had her; for the first time in seven hundred years he felt true remorse for some of his actions. It still amazed him that she didn't seem to care; that she had accepted that was who he was.

He exhaled and ran his fingers through her tight blond curls. He blinked and lifted his head when a folded piece of parchment landed on his abdomen. Sitting up he tilted the thick paper towards the dim light streaming through the window and was greeted with his sister's elegant handwriting.

_Kol,_

_I don't know if you're still nearby, but if you are then meet me in the clearing._

_There is something we need to discuss immediately._

_I will be there until dawn._

_~ Rebekah_

Kol shook his head and sighed. Gazing at the angle of the moon he estimated three hours before the sun would crest over the horizon. Had it been one of his brothers he might have woken asked Lexa to return a letter saying he was somewhere in the far east, but he had never been able to say no to his sister; especially when it was such a simple request.

He laid the parchment beside the vase of daisies. They were well past the point in the summer when the flowers grew, but Lexa loved them so much she had used a spell to revive them when they died.

"Lexa, Elskling?" He kissed her cheek and made a soft trail to her ear. "Wake up, little witch." His fingers danced over her exposed ribs.

"Hmm," she giggled and squirmed under his wandering hand. "Kol…" she peered through bleary eyes at the sliver of moonlight, "… mi amor," she sighed and squeezed her eyes shut, "it's the middle of the night."

"I know, Elskling," he cupped her neck and rubbed his thumb over her jaw.

"I'm worn out," she sighed, "I do not think I could go again right now."

Kol chuckled and kissed the edge of her mouth. Her body was pliant under his hand. "That is not the reason I woke you," he tilted his head when her fingers closed around his length.

"It's not?" She felt him harden beneath her fingers. "It certainly seems like that's why you woke me," she rolled on top of him. Her lips made a slow trail down over his chest.

"Bloody hell," he cursed when she ran her tongue up the underside of his shaft and sucked the tip into her mouth. "Lexa," he threaded his fingers through her hair and lifted her back up into a sitting position. "That's not why I woke you, Elskling."

"Then why did you wake me?" She turned her head and kissed his palm.

Kol closed his eyes and drew her down for a soft kiss. "I have to leave," he breathed against her lips.

"What? You're leaving? Why?" Had she done something?

"I got a letter from my sister," he tucked an errant curl behind her ear. "She wants to meet me before dawn. I should be back in a few hours," leaning forward he brushed his lips over hers. "I didn't want you to wake up without knowing where I was."

She laughed softly, "For a moment I thought you meant you were leaving me."

"Little witch," Kol lifted her chin and peered into her eyes, "no power on this earth is enough to tear me away. You've stolen my heart. Rest assured, Elskling, I will always return to you."

A soft smile turned up the corners of her lips. "Just try not to go too far," she searched his gaze. "You've stolen mine as well. I don't know what I'd do without you." Her eyes flickered down to his straining arousal. "You can't meet your sister like that."

* * *

Kol stood downwind and watched for a moment as she paced in the moonlight.

He had spent the better part of an hour in bed with his beloved. Her embrace had been warm and inviting; the last thing he wanted to do was leave her loving arms, but he had torn himself away when the moon had all but disappeared. Her eyes had drifted shut when he'd pulled on his waistcoat.

Seeing the look on Rebekah's face made him want to turn around and race back to the small tavern where she slept. If he left that moment he could be back before she awoke. He was seriously contemplating it when the wind shifted and her head spun in his direction.

"Sister," he sighed and stepped from between the trees.

"Kol," Rebekah sighed. "I was beginning to think you had moved on. It has been months."

"Yes," Kol nodded, "well, I find myself quite fond of Cadiz."

"Let me guess," Rebekah rolled her eyes, "an endless supply of blood, flowing alcohol and women with loose morals?"

He thought of the goddess who slept nightly in his arms. "Something like that," Kol smirked. Perhaps one day he would introduce his sister to her; after he had enjoyed the tranquility that came from her presence. He knew tension would settle around him when his brothers re-entered his life; it was always the way. The last thing he wanted was to be drawn into Nik's world of debauchery; it was something that always seemed to happen when he was with his brother.

"What did you want Bekah? I would like to return before the sun reaches its peak."

"I want you to come home," she approached him and rubbed her arms, "the flames are getting closer. We will need to flee soon."

"I'm not going anywhere," he shook his head, "and if you knew what was best for you then you would cut your losses."

He stepped back when he saw the guilt flash in her eyes. "Rebekah?"

"I'm sorry," she frowned, "I told them you were nearby. They will not leave without you."

"Let them find me," his eyes narrowed. "I'll not leave," he swore before flashing away.

* * *

Rebekah stepped silently passed the compelled servants loading chests of belongings onto a carriage. When had they reached the point where they were ready to run at a moment's notice? When had they started keeping trunks packed and ready?

She choked down a sob when she watched a coffin being loaded into another carriage. She cursed Kol and his stubborn nature. It was only a matter of time before Nik and Elijah forced him to join them; she just prayed he would see reason and come along willingly.

"Is he still around?" Elijah appeared in front of her.

"Of course he is," Nik came up to her side. "I can smell him on you," he leaned over and sniffed, "Kol… and lavender… a lot of lavender."

"He smelt like lavender," Rebekah shrugged. It had been an odd smell coming from him, but she hadn't thought to question it.

"And where is he?" Nik peered into the darkness as if expecting his baby brother to materialize. He should have known better; Kol had never responded well to being told what to do.

"He refused to come," she sighed.

"Where is he?" Elijah steered her towards a carriage.

"Somewhere in Cadiz," Rebekah adjusted her skirts. "He did not say where. You're going to dagger him aren't you?"

"Only if he gives us a reason," Nik swung up into the saddle.

"We will not leave him behind Rebekah," Elijah closed the door. He swung up into the saddle and motioned for the coach to move out.

Even from the distance she could hear him. "Family above all," he murmured.

"Always and forever," she returned.

* * *

"Lexa," Kol smoothed blond curls away from her face, "my brothers are on their way. They are going to insist I go with them."

She chewed her lip and lifted her finger to trace the planes of his chest. The soft material of his shirt shifted under her hand.

"Can you not simply tell them that you wish to stay?" She remembered him telling her of his father. "Or I could come with you."

"I can't let you give up everything you've ever known for me, little witch," Kol smiled sadly at her. He had no intention of leaving her, but he was unsure how to disperse with them.

"What if I want to?"

Kol lifted his head to meet her jewel-like eyes. "You would willingly spend the rest of your life on the run from my father?"

She propped her chin on his chest and smiled. "If it means I get to spend it with you."

* * *

"Stay up here, Elskling," Kol kissed her brow. He laid his finger over her lips when she moved to protest. "Please? I'd rather not have my brothers meeting you in your shift," he smirked.

"If you hadn't kept me in bed all day I'd be perfectly presentable," she gave him a pointed look. "That's not the reason you want me upstairs."

"I want you where I know you're safe," he cupped her cheeks.

Lexa sighed when his mouth descended on hers in a soft kiss. Grasping the back of his neck she deepened it. She couldn't have explained in that moment why she needed him closer. She didn't know why her kiss was so desperate. All she knew was that she had the strangest feeling that if she let him out of her sight for even a moment it would be a long time before he kissed her again.

Kol pulled back and rested his forehead on hers. Their breath mingled in the few inches of space between them.

"I'm afraid," she ran her fingers into his hair; a few strands fell from the tie, "that if you walk out that door you'll never walk back through."

"Alexandria Ricci," he lifted her chin and stared earnestly into her eyes, "I will always find my way back to you… even if I have to come through the window," he winked.

"Mi amor…" she sighed when he kissed her again. She felt every emotion he had for her in that second kiss. "I love you, Kol," she blinked when her eyes flooded with moisture; the tears stung.

He inhaled the soft smell of the burning herbs and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "I love you, Elskling." His head turned in the direction of the door when he male voices called up the stairs.

_"Kol!"_

He gave her a pleading look and sighed when she nodded and dropped to sit on the edge of the bed. "Thank you," he bent and kissed her cheek.

_"Kol! Kol show yourself! This is no time for bloody games!"_

Kol opened the door slowly before closing it and flashing down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom and made a point to stumble.

"Come, come now brother!" He grinned at Niklaus. "It's always time for games." He lifted a half full glass of ale and raised it to them in a toast.

Elijah caught the falling mug and slammed it down on a table. "We must leave," he resisted the urge to sigh in exasperation when Kol sat and propped his feet on a table, "Mikael is nearly upon us."

"I very much doubt that," Kol tilted his head and smirked. "If he were upon us than I would imagine Nik would quite dead right now."

Klaus clenched his hand into a fist and stomped over the wood floors. "I barely escaped with my life!"

"Ever the entertainer," Kol snickered, "you should consider a career in the theatre."

"Father left the head of my horse on a pike in the town square!"

Kol gasped and covered his heart. "He killed poor Theo?" His eyes widened as he tempered his smirk. "The beast, but then Father has always hated you the most." Kol held his palms to the ceiling. "Surely he'll chase you if you flee, leaving me here."

Elijah rolled his eyes and sighed. "Rebekah and Finn are already on board the ship that will take us to the New World."

"Rebekah does whatever she's told," Kol scoffed. He knew he had his sister to thank for their descent. It was partially his own fault; he never should have gone to meet her. He had been covering his tracks well enough that they would not have had time to find him; father might not have found him either.

"And poor Finn," Kol sighed. "Well, he's in no position to argue with you given the dagger." He rose to his feet and stalked towards Klaus.

He frowned at the thought of the daggers. He had not thought of them until that very moment in time; he had never even mentioned them to Lexa. He made a mental note to inform her of their existence and purpose when his brothers were gone.

Kol shook off his thoughts and smiled. "I think I'll take my chances here." He moved as if to turn away only to find Elijah blocking his path. Turning again he found Niklaus on the other side.

"No," he shouted as Elijah pinned his arms. Somewhere under his own voice he heard soft footsteps. "I swear to you," his eyes narrowed into slits when the silver was poised over his heart, "the day will come when I am not so easily subdued!"

* * *

"And on that day, I will make you suffer!" She frowned at the level of fury in his voice.

Lexa paused on the landing and peered through the darkening tavern towards the trio of men. None of them had seen her yet. She could see the look on his face. She hadn't seen him look at anyone like that since he had spotted the men in the woods.

She tilted her head when the man with the dirty blond hair pushed something into her lover's chest.

"Perhaps," she could hear the amusement in his voice, "but today is not that day."

The sob caught in her throat. Kol's agonized scream tore at her heart; every inch of her body cried out in agony, but no sound left her parted lips. She knew what it meant when a vampire's complexion turned ashen and grey.

Lifting her gaze from his face she locked eyes with the man who had held him down as the other killed him. Kol's body was still turning grey when she fled up the stairs in her thin shift.

* * *

She didn't know how long she had sat there. She didn't know how long she'd rocked back and forth on the floor. Time was meaningless. Time was endless.

Up and down ceased to exist. Left and right were figments of a world gone by.

Did she still occupy a space in the world?

The only physical sign that she was still alive was the constant pain in her heart. It was searing; it was ripping. The organ felt as if it had been torn from her body. She would have thought it gone completely if not for the pain.

The rest of her body melted away until she was nothing more than a bleeding heart.

* * *

A hand gripped her chin roughly. Her head was lifted forcibly.

The first thing she became aware of was the afternoon light illuminating the stubble on his jaw. His dark blond hair was tied back illuminating his hard blue eyes.

It took her a moment to realize that he was talking to her. Her throat burned as she swallowed and drew in a shuddering breath. Slowly his words penetrated the ocean that had swallowed her hole, body and soul.

"Where are they?" She saw his pupils dilate ever so slightly and exhaled. She cringed when his fingers tightened on her chin. "Where are my children? One of them was here with you… you smell just like him."

_Mikael,_  Lexa swallowed nervously and found her voice. "I don't know," her whisper was little more than a rasp. Just how long had she spent crying?

"You're lying to me," he peered into her eyes again. "Tell me the truth."

She swallowed and shook her head. She wasn't sure who she was protecting at that point; surely his brothers deserved whatever their father would bring, but protect them she did. Perhaps it was the sister he had spoken fondly of.

"I do not know," she blinked away the fresh tears.

Mikael raked his eyes over her trembling body. Grasping the chains around her neck he pulled until he heard a soft snap and tossed the locket full of vervain and the jade stone aside.

"Let's try that again, senora," Mikael peered into her eyes. "Tell me where my children are right now."

She pressed her lips into a thin line. She knew in that moment he would hunt them down with or without her help; the most she could hope to do was stall him.

"East," she didn't stop to question how she lied. Perhaps Kol had been slipping vervain into her drinks; even as she thought it she knew it wasn't true. "They boarded a ship bound for the east."

"There now," Mikael pulled her to her feet, "was that so hard?"

She shook her head and shrunk back against the wall. "Are you going to kill me?" She remembered what Kol had said: vampires would not hesitate to compel and feed from her.

"No," Mikael shook his head and pressed the ruined jade back in her hand, "I do not feed from the living, and I only kill when necessary; your death would be pointless." He peered into her eyes again. "When I leave you will forget your encounters with my children and myself and live your life."

Numb she could so nothing but nod. Later when he was gone and she was marveling over the lack of bruises on her jaw she vowed that she would never forget.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry :'(. It had to be done...  
> On a side note the soulmate of a vampire cannot be compelled unless by an Original, so Daphne could be compelled by a Mikaelson. An Original's mate cannot be compelled at all, because in my AU the enhanced Original does not exist.  
> Time Jumps are coming. Lexa is about to discover just how well she can live without him.  
> At this point in time she doesn't know about what the daggers really do. She thinks he is dead, but that's not stopping her from making plans if she ever gets a hold of one.


	8. 1728

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO. I was thinking of maybe throwing in a few other crossovers into this story as well. People Lexa has met over the course of her life. I was thinking of X-Company and maybe Outlander, and of course Charmed

1728

Bodies brushed past her indifferently. Children ran through the streets and around her skirts while ignoring the sharp cries of their mothers. Several paces ahead she saw men conducting their business at a roughhewn table that had been erected before the ruins of the law offices that had burnt the previous year.

Vendors peddled their wares from beneath colourful awnings; everything from food to shoes were on display. She slid around a few young men and approached the stall. She lifted an apple and inspected the damaged skin; it would be mealy. The fruit had been on display for far too long; luckily that didn't matter to her. She haggled over the price before coming to an agreement and filling her basket.

Turning on her heel she gasped when she collided with another body. Adjusting her bonnet she resisted the urge to glare at the young man who had just celebrated his nineteenth birthday; she remembered his mother during her pregnancy. A sigh caught in her throat when she saw the playful twinkle in his eyes.

"Senorita," Milo Thorne righted her basket, "may I be of assistance? A beautiful lady such as you should not be carrying her own shopping."

Milo had been paying her a lot of attention lately. He was sweet, but had trouble taking a hint.

"I'm quite alright," she tightened her hold when he tried to take her basket. A frown twisted her lips when she walked away and found him following her. She finally turned to face him when she finished her shopping and he fell into step beside her on the path. "Do you need something?"

"No," he shook his head, "I only wish to enjoy your company and to know you better."

_I'll bet,_  she scoffed and shook her head.

He was not the first man to shower her with attention. It had started the year after Kol had been killed, but then they had accepted the knowledge that she was in mourning and left her alone. As time passed and she sequestered herself further people began to forget the husband that had disappeared, or maybe they just stopped caring. They left her be, but without fail she would suffer the clumsy attempts at flirting that came from her visits to the market.

They walked a quarter mile with Milo keeping up a running commentary on anything and everything. She ignored him for the most part; that might have been her mistake. He seemed to take her silence as encouragement. She was just thinking of the herbs she would need to grind that night for the woman who would come for assistance when she stopped walking.

They had made it back to her home; his voice turned to a dull drone as her eyes locked on a small patch of grass in the garden where she had once laid on her back to look up at the stars. It had been twenty-six years and she could still recall how the stars had sparkled in his eyes; she could still feel his lips on hers.

"Would it be terribly presumptuous of me to steal a kiss?" He didn't wait for an answer before taking her shoulders and pressing her against a tree.

Maybe it was the nostalgia. Maybe it was the strange sense of longing that had overcome her. Maybe she just wanted to feel. If she were being honest she didn't know why she let him kiss her. All she knew was that when he pushed her against the tree and slid his tongue into her mouth it was not Milo Thorne kissing her.

Lost in the memory of a day, decades gone by, her hands dropped the basket and wandered. She found a quickly hardening bulge in his trousers and sighed when his lips lifted to travel the length of her throat. With her eyes still shut she let him lower her to the ground.

"Alexandria," he groaned. His hips rolled down between her spread thighs.

She closed her eyes and did her best to ignore his voice. Her eyes finally snapped open when cool air swirled around her legs. She pushed futilely on his chest and squirmed.

"Get off me," she grunted.

He renewed his efforts in lifting her skirts; spurred on by her cries.

_I truly have terrible luck with men,_  she thought. Squeezing her eyes shut she relaxed beneath him. She felt him taking advantage of her recent submission by un-fastening his trousers. Lexa took a steadying breath before focusing all of her energy into her hands.

She was on her feet when he crashed through the foliage. She had laid down the basket and sealed the door before he'd managed to catch his breath.

* * *

Her eyes refused to stay closed. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't get the sound of his voice out of her head.

Twenty minutes after she had sealed the door of her house his fists had pounded on the wood. He had yelled every obscenity he had known calling her everything from a cock tease to an evil bitch. Her blood had run cold when he'd called her a witch. She should have opened the door and altered his memory of the afternoon, but that spell took time and close physical proximity to the target; she wouldn't have had enough time before he either ran or made good on the promises he had made to finish what he'd started.

_I truly have terrible luck with men,_  she tried to close her eyes. Her mind however would not stop. It was true; the only man that had been good for her had been murdered by his brothers.

She climbed to her feet. It was just as well that she couldn't sleep. When she did her dreams were plagued by him. It was always the same. She would fall asleep and find Kol in her bed cold and grey; she had tried everything she could think of but she was never able to wake him. If she left the room in her dream she would rarely see him again until the next night. It was rare when she would not dream of him; those were usually the nights she was too tired to keep her eyes open.

She hadn't had a decent sleep in twenty-six years; not even her sleeping herbs helped.

Lexa knelt at the foot of her bed and lifted the lid of the old trunk. Her fingers carefully untied the ribbons and pulled aside the soft edges of the cloth. She lifted the two books and moved to sit cross legged on her bed.

She ran her fingertips over the worn leather. A whispered incantation lit the candle that stood where there had once been a vase of daisies. The flickering light illuminated the worn cover; she traced the faded runes that had been carved into the edge centuries before.

She had told herself keeping his grimoire was practical, but the truth was she hadn't been able to part with it. She'd re-written many of the spells in her own grimoire behind the compendium of herbs she had amassed under the tutelage of her aunt.

Opening the book she traced the pressed daisy. It was the first one she had restored with magic; he had immediately taken it and preserved it between the pages. He had once told her when he was human he had placed preservation spells on the grimoire; that spell seemed to extend to anything placed inside. Aside from being flattened the flower was as fresh as it had been that summer afternoon.

She took a deep breath and moved on. She studied the runes until the candle burned itself out. Lexa squinted in the moonlight but the spells had started to blur together. Laying her head back on the pillow her heavy eyelids finally drifted shut.

* * *

_Lexa opened her eyes and suppressed a sob when she found him prone beside her. She smoothed back his dark hair and traced the prominent veins with her fingertips. Surely her unconscious mind was trying to make her feel guilty; trying to tell her that she should have helped him, she should have done something._

_She couldn't lie there and watch him though. She stood from the bed and stepped into the hall._

_Normally she would step into a field, or her kitchen. Sometimes he would show up there as well alive and vibrant._

_Tonight she had emerged in the garden of her childhood home. The grass tickled the soles of her feet. The wind brought the smell of fresh flowers to her nose. Lifting her head she felt her breath catch in her throat. A woman sat in the sun a dozen feet away. Tiny flower petals littered the dress that always reminded her of spring._

_When she exhaled she found herself at eyelevel with the rose bushes. Looking down she found herself in a pale blue dress that was tied at the waist with a white ribbon. Gone was her shift._

_She tiptoed across the grass and leaned over the woman's shoulder. Her hands were busy twisting the daisies into a small crown._

_"Ninita," she smiled brilliantly and captured Lexa's tiny hands in her own. "Sit with me 'Lexa." Her blue eyes sparkled in the sun when Lexa crossed her legs and tilted her head to look up. "I've made you something."_

_"That's too big Mama," she tilted her head and laughed when the crown of flowers was placed in her hair._

_"Nonsense," Giulia grinned, "it's a perfect fit, see?"_

_Lexa lifted her hands and found the crown secure in her hair. Glancing down she found herself a woman again and dressed once more in her shift. Her lip began to tremble when she looked at her mother._

_"Don't cry, ninita," Giulia wiped away a tear when it slid down her cheek._

_Lexa found she was powerless to stop though. She wrapped her arms tightly around her mother's neck. She buried her face in the chestnut curls and sobbed while Giulia rubbed her back._

_"I've missed you, Mama."_

_"I've missed you as well, 'Lexa," Giulia smiled sadly. She pulled back and cupped her daughter's cheeks. "We must talk now. I'm not sure how much time I'll have."_

_"Mama?" Lexa frowned._

_"You've done something very foolish ninita," Giulia shook her head. "You've revealed your abilities to someone and now you are in danger."_

_"One accusation will not come to anything," Lexa insisted._

_"My sweet 'Lexa," she kissed her child's brow, "surely you've noticed what others have. You've stopped Alexandria. You're frozen."_

_"I don't understand, Mama," Lexa shook her head._

_"This is not the first accusation leveled on you," Giulia sighed. "You are forty-four years old. How many women that age look as young as you? Your neighbors have been whispering for years. Deep down you know this."_

_Lexa ran her fingertips over the petals on her mother's skirt. In that moment she wanted more than anything to be a child again. She wanted to curl up in her father's lap, listen to her mother sing, and know that everything would be okay._

_"You have to leave, ninita," Giulia lifted her chin, "you must leave now."_

_"But…" Lexa blinked back tears, "… if I go I'll never stop running."_

_Giulia smoothed back Lexa's hair and straightened the ribbon around her neck. Lifting her gaze she searched her only child's eyes._

_"You will stop," Giulia reassured her. "It might take time, but you will find somewhere to settle again."_

_"How long?"_

_"I don't know," she shook her head. "Now it is time for you to wake up."_

* * *

She sat up to find the sun high in the sky. The last time she had slept that late was after the death of Emiliano. She doubted she'd find her love downstairs though.

She debated getting dressed at all but in the end decided on it. She was just tucking her blouse into her skirt when she felt something tickle her ear. Sitting on the edge of the bed she pulled a comb through her tangled curls and blinked when the white petal fluttered into her lap.

Unbidden her dream came back to her. The note of urgency when her mother told her to run echoed in her ears. Her fingers deftly twisted her hair into a braid to lay over her left shoulder and picked up the small mirror from the bureau.

Was her subconscious talking to her? Had her mother truly visited her dreams? It was not unheard of for a witch to communicate from the other side, but Giulia Ricci had never bridged the gap before. She had not seen her mother since she was five years old.

Lexa squinted in the looking glass. She tilted her head this way and that while scrutinizing her features. It had often seemed strange to her that men continued to show an interest in her as the years passed her by. Bits and pieces of the tavern had warped and crumbled around her, but staring at her soft features she could find no change. She couldn't find so much as a wrinkle in her pale skin.

She knew that Milo Thorne would level an accusation. She had initially believed that his would be the first, but after her dream she was no longer certain.

Perhaps she was being paranoid. Perhaps it was foolish and irrational. Her actions could have been classified as many things, and at the very bottom of the list she tacked on the word sane.

The full moon was shining through her bedroom window when she finally slid the grimoires into the black bag. She didn't bother undressing before falling asleep.

* * *

Raucous shouts roused her from a deep sleep. Over the cacophony of angry voices and the crackling of a heavy fire she could just make out the shouts of 'witch'.

She was on her feet in an instant and pulling open the door to the hall. Lexa recognized the mistake when black smoke filled the bedroom and stung her eyes. She slammed the door shut and coughed violently.

Ice dripped down her spine as she weighed the options before her. She could attempt to stop the fire in its tracks and confirm what they were shouting. She could try to force her way through the smoke filled tavern and be incinerated in the blaze. She could stay where she was and wait for her lungs to fill with smoke; it wouldn't be long with the speed it was sliding under the door. The last option was by far the best one.

She stumbled through the smoke filled room and threw the bag over her shoulder. Her fists banged on the window when the warped wood would not allow the glass to open.

Coughing she lifted the neckline of her blouse over her mouth and laid a hand on the glass. A pained hissed escaped her lips when the heat burnt her palm. She powered through it and muttered a spell that turned the glass to water.

She perched on the window sill and gritted her teeth while staring at the ground some twenty feet below. She could hear the shouts from the front of the building, but it was the sound of a beam falling within that gave her the nerve she needed to jump.

Her ankle twisted under her and she grunted. Rising onto her hands and knees she drew in a greedy mouthful of air and felt her lungs clear. She exhaled and forced herself to her feet mildly surprised when there was no residual pain in her ankle. To be sure she rolled the joint a couple of times before her head snapped towards the north where heavy steps were circling the house.

_"Invisque."_

She took just enough time to cast the spell before sprinting into the woods. The false sound of feminine screams reached her ears from the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In terms of the Soulmate dreams... she still shared the dreams while he was daggered but because the dagger was in place it appeared as if he was dead. The dreams can be ignored however; she can leave. And in the case of Stefan and Rebekah, Nik compelled Stefan to forget everything he knew of Rebekah so he had no idea who the woman he kept dreaming of was until he met her again nearly a century later.


	9. 1741-1801

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO or Outlander

1741

* * *

 

Fifty-nine years had passed. Fifty-nine years since Sylvie had knelt between her sister's thighs. Fifty-nine years since Alexandria Ricci had taken her first breath.

Life was not easy for anyone, and it was certainly harder for her. On average people only lived forty years or so. In spite of the fact that she had long since fled her homeland she knew that most if not all of the children she had played with in her youth were dead.

Ever since that night she had run. She knew she would continue to run for a long time. Eventually people clued into the fact that she was not aging; that her face never changed.

Her mother had not visited her dreams again. Lexa wanted to believe what she had said but it was difficult. She had spent thirteen years running. Her days were spent seeking an answer to her predicament; her nights were haunted by the ghost of her dead love.

* * *

1743

* * *

 

If ever there was a place to lose oneself it was the Highlands of Scotland. They were a suspicious people, but luckily for her most of the animosity was often angled towards the English.

It was a bad time to be an English man or woman in Scotland. Tensions ran high between the two peoples despite being united under one flag.

That wasn't to say they didn't distrust any foreigner. Lexa might have found herself in a real spot of trouble if she hadn't discovered a hidden talent she'd not realized she had. It took her a few months being immersed in the language, but with practice she was able to adopt the accent of the region. It was rare her voice would slip, and when it did she'd blame it on a cold; not an uncommon occurrence in the highlands.

Lexa smoothed an errant curl back into the coif at the base of her skull. An autumn breeze lifted the fall leaves to swirl in the wind and sent a chill down her spine. The skeleton of a desiccated leaf crunched under her feet.

The silence of the forest path was disturbed by the wail of an infant.

Lexa's head snapped up sharply at the sound. It tugged at her heartstrings and pulled her feet over the grassy knoll. She slipped on her path up the hill and tripped over some gnarled tree roots. The heavy wood was enough to give her pause. From the other side of the hill voices reached her ears.

"It's a baby," the refined accent drifted through the trees.

"Claire," Geillis Duncan clucked, "that's a fairy hill. That baby is no human child. That's a changeling."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Lexa's own eyes narrowed. She kept one ear on the conversation while attempting to tug her skirts free from the tangle of roots.

"When the fairies steal a human child away, they leave one of their own in its place." Geillis explained. "Ya know it's a changeling because it doesn't thrive and grow."

There was a slight pause. "That's just superstitious nonsense."

Lexa couldn't help but agree; if only she could get her skirts free she could climb the rest of the hill.

"Claire," Geillis sighed in exasperation, "if ye leave a changeling overnight in such a place, the wee folk'll come and take it back and return the child they have stolen."

"They won't," Claire's voice rose sharply. "This is not a changeling. It's just a sick child, and it might very well not survive a night out in the open. I have to go."

Lexa heard Geillis wishing her friend luck. She just managed to get her skirts free when the baby started coughing and Claire began to sob. Lexa's breath caught in her throat when she saw Mistress Frasier cradling the dead child; she took solace in the knowledge that there hadn't likely been anything she could have done.

Quietly she slid back down the hill and took off at a sprint for Castle Leoch. Luckily she didn't have to go far before the horse crossed her path.

Geillis Duncan might not have been good for much, but at least she had found Claire's husband.

"She's up there," Lexa pointed round the bend. "Ya'd best get her down before the parents return."

* * *

Perhaps propriety had jumped out the window when she did. As a young woman she would have never dreamed of approaching an agitated man pounding on the door of the magistrate's house. Then again, as a young woman she would have been unlikely to wander the streets at night; it beat sleeping though. She had grown to dread the night. The only way she could get a descant night's sleep was to ingest a concoction she had spent a decade perfecting. It worked but it left her with an overwhelming feeling of weariness the next day.

She fingered the vial in her hand and took a deep breath before approaching. He turned in the moonlight so that her breath caught in her throat. Of all the people to pound on Mistress Duncan's door in the middle of the night James Frasier was not on the list.

"She's not in this evening," Lexa swallowed when her accent slipped.

"Damn," he swore.

"Is there a problem?" She tightened her shawl around her shoulders. Her thumb pressed into the cork of the vial concealed in her palm.

"Dougal's received some dire news," Jaime shook his head. "He's not taking it very well. Colum wants him calmed with a sedative, but Claire has run out."

"She meant to restock before the fairy hill?" Lexa whispered.

"Aye lass."

Lexa chewed her lip and dropped her gaze to her fist. After a moment, where she could feel his eyes on her, she came to a decision and held out her hand.

"Give him a few drops of this," she nodded to the slim vial, "he'll be out like a snuffed candle."

Jaime accepted the clear liquid and frowned. "Where did you get this lass?"

"Sometimes I have trouble sleeping," she smiled sadly before turning on her heel. She heard the hoof beats of his horse as he rode back to the castle.

Perhaps it was a bad idea to give young Jaime a vial of magic, but she sensed that his uncle needed it more than she did. It was just about time to move on anyway.

* * *

Lexa took a deep breath before securing the bag over the horse and tightening the straps of the saddle. The smell of leather helped to calm her nerves. So far two years had been spent in the area. Two years she had stayed where the world seemed to stand still.

It had been peaceful, almost. A large part of the reason she had stayed was Geillis Duncan. Since fleeing Spain she had only heard of one witch. She'd remained in the highlands, biding her time, looking for any sign that the rumors were true before approaching.

Geillis Duncan was not a witch. She was something though, but Lexa had no clue as to what that was. She knew that Claire Frasier shared a similar past as her friend.

However, since neither were witches and neither could offer her any help or knowledge it was time to move on. There was no point remaining any longer; it was only a matter of time before someone questioned the potency of her sleeping agents.

She swung into the saddle with a soft grunt and froze. Fear curled in her stomach. Her heart drummed and stuttered in her chest as the raucous cries grew closer. She felt her lungs constrict and fill with phantom smoke.

"Witch!" Drums banged from the direction of the square.

It took everything she had to climb off her horse and tiptoe around the corner of a building: her heart plummeted when she saw the two women being dragged out of the thieves' hole.

* * *

She'd always had a talent for getting herself into trouble. She made bad decisions all the time: getting married, remaining upstairs out of sight, kissing Milo and subsequently throwing him with magic. The only smart decision she had made was running from the burning building.

She wondered idly which list this decision would make. Would it go down in history as an epic failure? Would it lead to her death?

What she did know was that she could not leave without attempting to at least help. Geillis might have been a murderess, but Claire was innocent.

She barked to a young boy and called him over.

"Where is Jamie Frasier?"

"Gone, mistress," the boy murmured. "He's accompanying his uncle home."

Lexa pressed her lips together to stifle the frustrated groan that threatened to spill from her lips. She drew in a shuddering breath and exhaled.

"What about Ned Gowan?"

"He's in the hall."

"Run and fetch him," Lexa ordered. In the back of her mind she wondered if there would ever come a day when women were not dependant on men.

* * *

Somehow she had known that the lawyer would not be enough. With that in mind she had inquired after the party that had left Castle Leoch and set out after them; she rode as quickly as her horse would go and caught him.

She'd barely finished explaining the situation to Jamie before he'd taken off for the town he had just left behind.

Lexa watched him go before turning away for her own journey. Perhaps somewhere warmer; her aunt had once spoken of coven's in the south.

* * *

1801

* * *

 

Weeks, months, decades… an absurd amount of time had been spent running. She'd had far too many close calls to be comfortable. The longest amount of time she had ever spent in one place was nine years.

She didn't know why she bothered to look in the mirror anymore. She had long since memorized her features; they hadn't changed in ninety-nine years.

She had discovered many things about herself over the years. She had stopped aging. Her body healed when broken. She had suffered mortal wounds when accusations had flown. She had been stabbed and shot multiple times; the rapid healing spurned those who have done her harm. She'd spent years practicing spells that allowed her to disappear when backed into a corner.

She could hear things she should have never been able to hear. Standing within several meters of anyone her ears were often assaulted with a steady thumping; it had taken a while to figure out she was hearing their hearts beating. Once she had started listening she discovered that the heart skipped a beat when someone was lying.

Lexa had come across a few vampires, but they usually left her alone. It was the witches that proved to be a problem for her. They were a suspicious people by nature and often distrusted those they didn't know.

She had all but given up on her own people; they never had any answers. Surely this coven in Athens would be no different.

* * *

"There is something that might explain your circumstances," Agatha motioned for her to sit before the fire.

Lexa's eyes widened. She had explained the bare minimum; people tended to react poorly when she told them the truth.

"You can explain why I can do things I shouldn't?"

"I think so," Agatha smiled. "You said it happened after a love affair. Suddenly you could do things that you had never done before, but came easily to your lover."

Dumbfounded Lexa could do nothing but nod.

"There is a rumor," Agatha leaned forwards, "rooted in our mythology. Humans were originally created with: four arms, four legs, and two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts; condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves."

"How does this apply to me?" Lexa tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.

"When the two halves come together again they share in everything," Agatha gave her a pointed look. "Witches around here they spend their lives searching for their mates. When they find them they share power and abilities; my sister found hers years ago. She could speak to the dead, and he had an affinity for the earth; suddenly they had each other's power in addition to their own."

"He was my soulmate?" Lexa's eyes grew round. She turned to stare at the fire.

"I can think of no other reason," Agatha nodded. "Maia's soulmate died last year; she lost his affinity for the earth when it happened."

"Are you sure she's not just lost in grief?" Lexa closed her eyes. She had watched him die… he couldn't be alive. "Perhaps she'll find the power over the earth again when she's had time to move on."

"Perhaps," Agatha nodded.

She had seen him turn ashen and grey. Vampires only did that when they died. Agatha had to be wrong about the last bit, didn't she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking the next chapter will skip to a very specific few days in 1821.


	10. 1821

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO

Greece, 1821

* * *

She held the sheet tightly to her chest and stared at the ceiling. Silent tears streaked from her glistening green eyes into her hair. The thin sheen of sweat cooled her skin and raised goosebumps on her arms.

She stiffened when the arm snaked over her waist under the sheet and tried to roll her over. She shook her head and rolled onto her side away from him. Fingering the jade tied around her wrist she flinched when the hand settled hesitantly on her shoulder.

"Do you want me to leave?"

The disembodied voice was husky to her ears; the reply was brittle and she knew she was moments away from breaking.

"Please."

She managed to keep it together until the door closed behind him. Her lip trembled as the sobs tore through her body.

Surely it was irrational. She had no reason to feel the way she did. She had no reason to feel guilty. So why did every molecule seem to scream that she had done something wrong?

* * *

_Her eyes opened on the vase of daisies as fresh and full of life as they had been one hundred and nineteen years before. There was no sign of the tears on her face but the guilt still sat heavy in her chest beneath the soft sheet. She couldn't bring herself to roll over to where she knew he was lying lifeless behind her._

_She stared at the flowers instead and willed them to disappear. She was in no mood to view something so bright and innocent. So focused was she on her futile task that she didn't feel the bed shift._

_Her eyes grew round when her hair was moved aside and a kiss pressed to her bare shoulder. A shriek fell from her lips. She might have fallen from the bed if the arm hadn't wrapped around her waist._

_"What's wrong, Elskling?"_

_Lexa finally rolled over. Her breath came out in shaky pants._

_"Kol?" Hesitantly she lifted her fingers and traced the grey lines of the veins under his eyes and over his cheeks. She was really starting to hate her unconscious mind. As if she wasn't giving herself enough of a guilt trip when she was awake._

_Maybe it was wrong, but it had been so long since she had heard his voice and he seemed so real. She completely ignored the grey tint to his skin grasped the back of his neck and crashed her lips to his in a desperate kiss; she knew if she had been awake his grip on her shoulder would have been bruising._

_"I love you," she breathed against his lips._

_"I love you, too," he smoothed back her messy curls. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong, little witch?" He leaned back and met her glittering eyes; his thumb swiped away some of the moisture that had gathered there._

_"I…" the sob caught in her throat. "I miss you."_

_His lips quirked up in a small smile while amusement danced in his dark eyes. "I'm right here, Lexa." His expression turned serious. "There is something I need to tell you. The…"_

_She laid her hand over his mouth and shook her head. "Later, mi amor, later." She pressed her lips to his again in a slow kiss and felt his skin grow warm beneath her palm._

_She followed the path of his hands and shifted to straddle him. Her hands cupped his cheeks. A soft moan reverberated in her chest when his previously dry hands explored her bare back._

_He was just sitting up to help her remove his shirt when the annoyed voice reached his ears. He ignored it and flipped Lexa onto her back to trail kisses down her throat. Her hands were tugging on his trousers when the voice proved too difficult to ignore._

_She gasped when the weight that had been separating her thighs vanished. She had just enough time to register the fact that she was alone before the room dissolved and she found herself standing on the shore looking out at the sea. She tightened the woolen shawl around her shoulders and stared at the crystal clear waters._

_The gentle lapping of the waves turned violent before her eyes._

* * *

New Orleans, 1821

* * *

Kol sat up and gasped. His head turned this way and that in an attempt to make sense of his surroundings. A moment before he had been with her, now he found himself on an unfamiliar bed in an unknown room.

"Welcome back, little brother."

Kol's dark eyes narrowed when he spotted the smug expression on Nik's face. His gaze snapped to the dagger Nik twirled between his fingers. His every muscle tensed with rage.

"How long?" Kol practically trembled with rage. His throat burned with hunger.

"It is 1821," Nik grinned. "You've been asleep for one hundred and nineteen years. I thought you might be a little peckish," he strode to the door and pulled it open, "there are twenty-three servants in the house."

Kol felt his heart pound with fury. He was getting ready to attack when Nik pulled in a trembling maid.

He was on his feet in time to catch the young woman. The fear lifted the smell of her blood and brought his fangs down. His intention to make his brother suffer moved to the back of his mind as the bloodlust took over.

He was draining the final servant when his mind caught up with him. His eyes dropped to his bloodstained shirt when he heard the telltale sounds of his older brother's hearts.

Licking his lips he decided the first order of business would be punishing his brothers for their actions, and the best way to get to Elijah was by drawing undue attention to the family with no remorse.

"Bravo," he cleared his throat and clapped his hands. "That was delectable," he met Nik's amused gaze, "but make no mistake, Nik, I'm still cross that you daggered me," he looked around at the dead bodies, "but, as far as apologies go, it's a start."

"This is your idea of fun?" Elijah clenched his jaw and turned to Niklaus while angrily motioning to Kol and the mess he had made.

"Well," Klaus shrugged, "you and Marcellus have grown thick as thieves… why should I be alone?"

* * *

"What do you want, sister?" Kol tore off the cravat. He knew he Rebekah to thank for his current misery. The only reason he made no plans to punish her was because he knew she had been acting in his best interests… what she thought had been his best interests; Rebekah had suffered enough at the hands of Nik over the years.

"I wanted to talk to you," she crossed her arms and watched him carefully. "You're acting out and it's going to get you in trouble."

"I don't know what you're talking about?" He denied lightly. "I'm just having a little fun."

"You don't think I see the pain in your eyes?" Rebekah shook her head. "Nik and Elijah might think you've turned off your emotions, but I can see it."

"I feel nothing," he smirked and leaned against the wall.

"Don't lie to me Kol," she pleaded. "You're haunted by something. It's eating away at you and you're lashing out. How many did you and Nik drain last night?"

"Not sure," he shrugged. "Now if you don't mind sister, I am tired and would like to sleep. I've been awake since the dagger was removed. Three days without sleep" He pulled the curtains shut and held open the door.

Maybe he was punishing her a bit.

* * *

_She blinked when she found herself in the tavern bedroom. She hadn't been there in three nights. Her dreams had been haunted by visions of the churning sea._

_She had thought guilt was taking her away from the dreams that had haunted her for over a century. She had thought he was gone forever from her mind._

_Sitting up she propped herself on her elbow and exhaled when she saw him sleeping soundly beside her. Reaching out tentatively she ran her fingers over his cheek._

_She gasped when his hand closed around her wrist and his eyes snapped open._

_"Elskling?" He sat up slowly and wrapped his arms tightly around her body._

_"Hello," she pressed her lips together to stop the trembling. She laid her head on his shoulder and slid her arms around his neck. "You had something you wanted to tell me."_

_"In a minute," he murmured against her hair._

_"I believe I said something like that," she pulled back and cocked an eyebrow._

_"I believe you did," he chuckled. "I find all I want to do right now is hold you."_

_"What is it with men and multitasking?" She pushed him back to lie down and laid her head on his chest. "You can do two things at once, Kol. You've proven rather competent at that in the past."_

_"Hold you tight, and talk then?" He smiled and ran his hand up and down her spine._

_"Precisely," she nodded. "I've missed your voice."_

_"I can't help but note that yours has changed," he took her hand from his chest and threaded their fingers together._

_"Time does that," she murmured. "What did you want to tell me?"_

_"Can't I just hold you until the sun comes up?"_

_"It seemed pretty important the other night," Lexa arched her neck and kissed his jaw. She propped her chin on his chest and stared into his eyes._

_"The daggers," he ventured after a moment of silence. "The silver dagger my brother stabbed me with…"_

_"Kol?" She sat up. Sorrow closed her throat. Her heart wrenched as the unbidden images flooded her mind. She wanted him to stop talking. She wanted to forget for the time being that he was dead._

_"It had a specific purpose," he pushed on._

_Lexa tilted her head in confusion. This was her dream shouldn't he concede to the wishes of her mind? Normally she could alter her dreams when she found them uncomfortable, but her old bedroom had never worked the way the rest of her mind did._

_"They were weapons forged by a witch," he inhaled sharply and pressed his palm to the small of her back. "When dipped into the ashes of a white oak they have the power to neutralize an Original vampire. We remain 'dead' and desiccated as long as the dagger is in our hearts."_

_"I should have told you," he sat up and carded his fingers through her messy curls._

_"You should have," she nodded. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. "I am not going to waste what little time we have on anger though."_

_"How would you like to spend our time, little witch?" He tilted his head and slid his hands from her hair to her shoulders._

_"I'm certain you can guess," she ran her fingers through his hair, "your hair is shorter."_

_"Time changes some things," he smirked. He grasped her hips and pulled her to straddle him._

_"Hopefully not everything," she murmured._

* * *

He was in a foul mood; practically murderous. Dreams had the ability to do that he supposed. For five undisturbed hours he had slept; he had held her, spoken to her and made love to her in his dreams.

Waking up had not been an enjoyable experience. He couldn't remember the last time he'd woken in such a state; he had a suspicion he had been human though.

He was nothing if not an optimist though. Moving his rook over the chess board he relished the opportunity to push his brother's temper to the breaking point. Besides, it wasn't like he had a hope of putting Nik in check anytime soon.

"Forty-six," Elijah paced the room. His fist clenched tightly as he moved. "An entire tenement," he brought his hand down on the board when neither brother seemed to care and roared. "Forty-six bodies drained."

"Nonsense," Kol straightened the pieces. "It was at least sixty," his mouth quirked up in a smirk. "Ah," he held up his finger and nodded, "they neglected to check the attic."

"Aha," Nik laughed.

"Why do people always run for the attic? I mean, it makes absolutely no sense!" He waved his hands.

"It is difficult enough to keep out presence in the city a secret without the two of you doing absolutely everything in your power to draw attention to us," Elijah inhaled sharply.

"I'm surprised you have the time to concern yourself with us," Nik rolled his eyes back to the chessboard; "given the hours you spend doting on Marcellus."

Elijah took a step back and stared at Niklaus. "Is that what this is all about? You envy my bond with Marcellus?" He shook his head and sighed in exasperation. "Niklaus, you brought that child into this home. He's no longer safe here; I cannot allow him to remain."

Nik jumped to his feet. Kol could see the indignation in his eyes.

"You would punish the boy for Kol's antics?" His voice echoed off the walls. "I would just as soon put him in a box!"

"You'd choose that little whelp over your own family?" Kol held his hand over his heart with an affronted look.

"That little whelp is our family!" Nik spun around to Elijah. "Marcellus stays."

_She was mine,_  Kol watched Nik storm from the room.  _It seems I've found my revenge._

* * *

"Sometimes I don't know why I bother," Kol sighed in exasperation when the actor's body hit the floor. He held up his hands and shrugged to Marcellus.

"What have you done?" Elijah gasped when he rushed into the courtyard.

"I thought you'd be please, Elijah," he smirked, and waved to the troupe behind him, "I was just introducing young Marcellus to the theatre."

"There is no limit to your violent imagination, is there?"

"If the boy is going to be a vampire he'll have to learn somewhere?" Kol lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I've already fed him my blood. All you have to do is snuff him, and voila," he held Marcellus by the shoulders, "one of us. That's what you want, isn't it?" His smile was overly angelic.

Kol grunted when Elijah grabbed his throat and shoved him backwards while holding his neck. He felt Nik grab his arms from behind.

"Let him go, Elijah."

Kol saw the hesitation in his movements when Elijah reluctantly released him.

"Thank you, Nik," Kol straightened his jacket, "at least  _someone_  knows the meaning of family."

"I told you before," Nik spun Kol to face him. His face was frozen in a severe expression. "Marcellus is family."

The anger simmered in his chest when Elijah took his arms and Nik pushed the silver through his chest. His last thought was that next time he would need to be smarter.

* * *

Greece, 1821

* * *

"Agatha," Lexa called, "could I speak with you for a moment?"

"Of course," she smiled gently. Her eyes lighted on the bag slung across the young woman's shoulders. "Are you leaving?"

"Yes," Lexa fingered the strap of her bag, "even in the coven people are starting to whisper. This is actually the longest I've ever stayed anywhere."

"Where will you go?" Agatha fell into step beside her on the path to the sea.

"That depends on what you can tell me," Lexa's gaze darted along the ships at the port. There were three of them each bound for a different location: Asia, France, and the New World.

It had been a week since her dreams had returned to normal. A week since Kol had become unresponsive again. In that time she had come to realize something; he had never mentioned a dagger. There was also no sign of them within his grimoire. It was definitely a long shot but if someone could confirm at least part of what he had said she knew exactly where she would go.

"Seeking knowledge again?" Agatha grinned. "You haven't peppered me with questions since I told you about soulmates nearly twenty years ago. You've actually been teaching me. Where did you learn all of those spells?"

"Here and there," Lexa shrugged non-committedly. "I picked up most of it on my travels."

"You don't want to tell me," Agatha nodded, "that's fine. What do you want to know?"

Lexa bit her lip and stared at the sea. She mulled over her words for several moments before turning to Agatha. She marvelled over the changes she saw in the other witch. When Lexa had met her she'd been a girl of seventeen on the cusp of marriage; now her own daughter was poised to marry at the end of the month beneath the full moon.

"What do you know about Originals?" Lexa tilted her head.

"Originals?" Agatha's voice dropped to a whisper. "I only know what I've heard. They're ancient beings. The rumors always said there were four… three brothers and one sister."

Lexa nodded. So far everything made sense.

"There were whispers that the coven slaughtered over a century ago, the ones that worshiped the first immortal, were killed by an Original." Agatha pulled Lexa to sit with her on bench. "They say he feared the coven would succeed in waking the beast and unleash hell on earth."

Lexa focused her gaze on the farthest boat bound for the France. Would she be taking that one?

"How do you kill an Original?"

"Oh," Agatha shook her head, "you can't. They cannot be killed; they can only be neutralized. There was some kind of weapon… I don't know what it was though only that it was made of silver." She turned her eyes to the youthful blond. "Why do you ask?"

Lexa inhaled and shook with a silent laugh. "I… I think I might have met one."

"Well," Agatha chuckled, "pray you never meet one again. They're deadly." She nodded to the ships in the harbour. "So, where are you going?"

"I thought I'd try the New World," Lexa smiled, "plenty of places to disappear."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do love reviews... so so much...  
> I still think I'm going to introduce her to Claire again. I've got this idea where she somehow winds up in the hospital where Claire is working in Boston. Or maybe she meets Brianna and Bree introduces Lexa to her mother.


	11. 1901-1914

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO  
> This chapter doesn't have much Lexa in it as we are journeying over to NOLA with Kol. There is some smut though.

Consciousness always returned slowly.

It was followed by the feeling of being trapped. His mind lost in the darkness of his own body. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He couldn't breathe.

With the removal of the dagger his body slowly regained feeling. It took hours before he would heal enough to sit up; it took so long that his mind usually wandered and dreamed while his body was busy repairing itself.

* * *

_The warm summer air passed easily through his lungs. Each breath brought the smell of fresh cut daisies to his nose._

_Kol knew before he opened his eyes that she would be there._

_He was right._

_Kol rolled onto his side and debated doing it. He knew at this point that the dagger had been removed and soon he would wake. He knew that Nik would be on the other side and that she would disappear only to be seen in his dreams._

_He didn't know how long his brother had made him sleep. He didn't know how many years had passed since the day he had been dragged from the tavern. He didn't know why his mind haunted him with images of her._

_It was wonderfully devastating._

_His heart ached for her. His body craved her._

_He reached out with one hand and caught a white blossom between his fingers. He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted the flower to her gaze._

_The soft intake of breath told him she was awake._

_She turned onto her back and stared up at him with a mixture of surprise and elation._

_Kol tucked the daisy behind her ear and gently cupped her neck._

_"Hello, Elskling," his lips quirked up in a sad smile._

* * *

1901

New Orleans

* * *

Kol supressed his groan and sat up. He'd barely had a chance to kiss her when he was ripped into the realm of consciousness.

"Welcome back," Klaus twirled the dagger on the table top.

Kol glared at the feet propped on the edge of the bed. He wanted to tear his older brother apart limb from limb, but he knew he had to be smarter this time around.

His eyes swiveled to the coffin in the corner that had yet to be removed.

"New casket?" He arched an eyebrow.

"I thought it should match the darkness of your soul," Klaus smirked. He climbed to his feet and pulled open the door.

Kol inhaled the fear rising from the young woman's neck when she was pressed to join him on the bed. He caught the surprise in Klaus' eyes when he forced himself to take the time to compel the girl to relax.

He wasn't sure why he did it. Maybe it was the remnants of his dream. Maybe it was the fact that he had been asleep for a shorter period of time. Maybe he just wanted to surprise his brother.

Or maybe it was the fear in her green eyes.

* * *

1904

New York

* * *

Disappearing into a large city was easy. It was so simple to vanish into thin air when you were surrounded by a million people.

She had been in New York City for fifteen years. Normally when she ran away it was to another country or state, but in the city she could relocate to another neighborhood and never again see the people from the old.

It certainly helped that each section of the city had its own coven that was at war with the others. They were always at each other's throats and were not the type to exchange idle gossip.

So long as Lexa kept to herself and only spoke to the local covens when necessary she was fine.

She wasn't sure how much longer she could stay back in the wings though. The covens were making the gang violence in Lower Manhattan look like child's play. The gangs were children fighting with wooden swords compared to the witches of the city.

"Alright, darlin'," a man leered at her as she walked passed on the street.

Lexa rolled her eyes and waved her hand in a backwards motion when she felt him following her. She smirked when she heard the boards give way on a stand of fruit.

Children darted forward and snatched the fallen apples while the proprietor yelled at them and screamed 'thieves'.

She couldn't bring herself to feel too badly though. The children were starving and the action had caused enough of a raucous that the man had lost sight of her as she disappeared into the crowds.

Later that night after she had slid into bed she wondered what her dreams would hold. It had been nearly three years since her nightly routine had been interrupted. Three years had passed since Kol had tucked a flower behind her ear and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips.

Her dreams had been sporadic since then. Her love only popped into her head once a week at most.

She dreaded the night almost as much as she longed for it. The dreams of him were wonderful, but waking up and being reminded that he was not there broke her heart.

* * *

1914

New Orleans

* * *

"When is the last time you slept?" Rebekah crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame of her brother's room.

"Not sure," Kol shrugged. He tilted his head while he thought about it. "Perhaps a week."

"Perhaps you should rest," she gave him a pointed look when he reached for his hat, "instead of going out."

"Where is the fun in that sweet sister?" Kol donned the cap. He paused on his way out the door and pressed a kiss to Rebekah's cheek.

He knew exactly what fun was in his dreams, but he dreaded them. Ever since waking up he had been plagued by her.

The witches thought the plagues affecting the city were bad. They had nothing on his unconscious mind. He might have thought someone had cast a spell on him if the dreams had not begun before he had remerged into New Orleans society.

His exhaustion was catching up with him though. He knew he would have to sleep soon and deal with the heartache that followed waking.

Kol's steps faltered when he reached a clearing just outside the French Quarter. He wasn't sure what possessed him to lie down in the soft grass. It had been two hundred and twelve years since he had looked up at the stars.

He draped his hat over his stomach and stared at the night sky. It took less than a minute to locate the constellation he had spent his waking time avoiding at all costs.

The tear slipped from the corner of his eye when he found Taurus glittering in the heavens.

He blinked once before closing his eyes and wishing for dreams of his golden haired Persephone; for anything that would sustain him in the winter that would never end.

* * *

_He blinked and caught the fingers working the buttons on his shirt._

_"What do you think you're doing?" He held her hand to his lips and smirked._

_"You're wearing too many clothes," Lexa smiled innocently. She used her free hand to tug on the fabric playfully._

_Kol grasped the back of her neck and pulled her face to his so he could lay a bruising kiss to her lips. Arousal pooled in his stomach under her small hands downward journey. He groaned when she squeezed him through his trousers and massaged the hard bulge._

_His wandering hands grasped the thin cotton around her waist and lifted it upwards. He broke their so he could pull the material over her head. Tossing it into a corner of the room he pressed a sweet kiss to the corner of her lips and caught her hand before she could unfasten his pants._

_"Ladies first," he answered the question in her lust darkened eyes._

_She squealed when he lifted her and positioned her wet center over his face._

_Kol's fingers kneaded her smooth behind and drew her down. He heard the soft moan as his tongue made contact with her clit. He groaned when her fingers grasped his short hair. He lapped at her dripping pussy and flicked the sensitive bundle of nerves with his tongue._

_It wasn't long before she started rocking her hips back and forth._

_He snuck a glance at her as she rode his face and found her fingers rolling a tight bud. His tongue drove into her body and massaged her inner walls; his hands caressed her backside._

_He knew she was approaching her orgasm when the edges of the room faded from his vision._

* * *

Lexa sat up on the roof and groaned in frustration. She had fallen asleep staring at the night sky on the flat rooftop. She climbed to her feet and hurried inside before collapsing on the soft sofa.

Lifting the edge of her nightdress up and around her waist she slid her fingers through her folds and gathered the cream before working her clit. She closed her eyes and summoned the recent image of his face between her legs while her fingers slid inside and her thumb worked the sensitive bud.

Her dream had pushed her to the edge so it only took her a few minutes to bring herself to orgasm.

She laid back and panted while coming down. Her body took longer than her mind, but soon enough she began to crave his arms around her. She wanted to lay her head on his chest and listen to the frantic beating of his heart as he came down from his own high.

She refused to cry though. She was not going to lie on the sofa half naked and cry while juices coated her thighs.

She laid there for so long that she eventually drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

Kol caught the hand on his chest and used his enhanced speed to pin the small body to the ground beneath him.

Heavy skirts tangled around his legs. His heart stuttered when he saw the blond ringlets covering the woman's face. He cursed himself mentally when his hips pressed between her thighs and she gasped at the feeling of his erection through their clothes.

"Hello," she swallowed and pulled her hair aside to reveal a round face.

Kol had to admire the girl's courage. Not many would have looked at a strange man holding them down in such a way. There was a mixture of fear and arousal in her blue eyes.

"Did you need something, Miss Claire?" His eyes traced the ringlets surrounding her face. Lexa's hair had once looked similar when she had taken the time to actually style it; the spring rain had ruined the effect later that day.

"I didn't realize," she blushed under his heated gaze, "that it was you until you woke up. You were…" she bit her lip," …groaning… I thought you were hurt."

"Obviously not," Kol's eyes searched her face. He didn't miss the way her thighs shifted on either side of him or the way her gaze darted to his lips. "As you can see I am quite alright, so unless you want my help with something I do believe we are done here."

His hand grasped her skirt when she surged up and caught his lips in a hungry kiss. He couldn't help but think woman were very repressed these days when her arousal reached his nose. They had to be if all it took was proximity to a man to set their blood on fire.

Perhaps it was the remnants of his dream. Perhaps it was the fact that it had been two hundred and twelve years. Perhaps it was the way her hair reminded him of his lost love.

Maybe he just wanted to have a little fun after so long alone.

He picked her up and flashed across the clearing into the tree line without breaking the kiss. His eyes widened when her hands deftly unfastened his trousers and his erection was pulled free. Pushing her back to lie in the grass again he slid her skirts up around her legs. He took enough time to make sure she was ready before gliding inside of her.

A little bit of fun never hurt anyone, so why did he feel guilty?

* * *

The fog curled around her ankles and muffled the sharp taps of her heels on the cobblestones. With each gust of wind she glanced over her shoulders warily.

This was a dangerous time to be a witch in New Orleans. There was a war brewing between the different factions: those who had sided with Klaus Mikaelson and those who had sided with Kol.

She was in the latter group; it was much smaller than the first, but she believed it to be the right one. Her growing feelings for the distant vampire may have had something to do with it.

She gasped when her back was pressed to the cool stone and stared up into his dark eyes.

"Just once, Kol Mikaelson," her hand landed on his chest, "you might greet me like a gentleman?"

"If you are in the market for a gentleman, Mary Alice Claire, I'm afraid you have the wrong Mikaelson brother." His gloved hand cupped her neck when he bent down to press a sweet kiss to the edge of her mouth. "Where is Astrid? I need two witches before the lessons can begin."

"She thinks you can't be trusted." Mary Alice swallowed and stepped forwards after him. "We've all heard the stories of how you use witches and then discard them."

"Lies," Kol swore. Something flashed in his dark eyes before she could read it properly. "Propagated by my wicked family, love." Kol held up a finger as he talked. "You know, if Klaus has his was you'll all be dead. This," he nodded to the cemetery, "will be a vampire country, don't you want to keep you all safe, for all the future generations of Claires to come?"

"Why are you so keen to help us? What do you get out of this?"

Kol smirked and shook with a silent laugh. What did he get out of this? If everything went according to plan he would get his revenge on Klaus. He had given up on fighting back against Elijah who he suspected had only gone along with their brother's plan. The main priority was Klaus… the war between the witches caused enough of a headache for his oldest breathing brother.

"As soon as we get rid of Klaus' witches," he tilted his head and grinned, "we are going to get rid of Klaus."

Thirty minutes later Astrid and Mary Alice were examining the contents of the playhouse. Kol had spent the past decade amassing every magical object and grimoire he could find and placing them inside.

Mary Alice's fingers lifted the lid of a small box on one of the shelves. The black box sat beside a silver dagger.

"Don't touch that," Kol snapped. He took the emerald ring from her hands and put it back in the box and slid it into his pocket. He masked the pain and anger in his eyes before smiling and starting the lesson.

* * *

"We've tried everything, Kol." Mary Alice dropped the blade onto the table. "We need a bigger diamond."

"There is no bigger diamond," he shook his head. Anger and disappointment furled in his chest. He had come so close only to fail in the end.

He knew the witch was right and that the diamond would need to be bigger. He knew it because the pair of them, Mary Alice and Astrid, had grown distant over the many months he had them practicing Kemiya. The bond was strained and they would need something much bigger to focus their magic.

He swept up the dagger and glared at the dark object in his hand. It had to be in his head right? There was no way he could actually feel the energy radiating from the blade. He slammed the silver down on a low shelf and closed his eyes.

"There may be…"

Kol turned around when she continued speaking. His eyes narrowed at the news of the dowager Folly keeping a massive gem inside her house.

Three days later Mary Alice and Astrid found him covered in blood in St Anne's shortly after mass.

* * *

He recognized his mistake when it was too late. That was always the way. Hindsight was 20/20 after all.

He should have known better than to tell Rebekah anything. She saw Klaus through blinders. She overlooked everything he had ever done to her.

Kol was starting to lose hope that she would ever see sense. Would she ever leave him? Would she ever do something for herself?

He highly doubted it.

In retrospect he should have known Klaus would dagger him while he attempted to reclaim the dowager's diamond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love reviews... the next chapter is planned to take place at a speakeasy during prohibition era Chicago where Lexa finally catches up with a Mikaelson.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO. I couldn't remember much about Gloria so I took some liberties with her character; I thought she'd be very fun and flirty in the '20s.

1923

* * *

Chicago

* * *

Maybe it had been the twenty years in New York City that had beaten out the last of her fear. If she could face down the mob and their state of the art weapons without flinching she could certainly handle Gloria.

Gloria was only one witch. She was strong yes, but Lexa was confident she could stand her own with ease; it would have been different if Gloria had the backing of her coven, but the witch held a soft spot for vampires that made her a pariah amongst her own people.

It was her interest in vampires that made the woman so interesting to Lexa. If anyone could help her and provide the information she sought it was Gloria.

She adjusted the jaunty, powder blue, beret over her tight blond curls and slid her hands into her pockets. The cloth bag slid down her arm and hooked on her wrist; she didn't bother to fix it since that was typically where ridicules were carried anyway. Her white wool polaire fell open when she stopped at the table and daintily dropped into the chair.

"Would I be correct in assuming that you are Gloria?" Lexa pulled off her gloves and rolled her shoulders back.

"That's me, doll," Gloria took a drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke in Lexa's face.

She lifted her finger and the smoke dispersed on either side of her head without touching her clothes.

"That's a rather dangerous habit," Lexa nodded to the silver case, "if you're not careful it might lead you straight to the grave." Sometimes she knew things and she knew that smoking was one of the leading causes of lung diseases.

"I'll keep that in mind," Gloria stubbed out the cigarette and straightened in her booth. "You're a witch then," a slow smirk lifted the edges of her lips, "not many talk to me these days. I'm a little too close with the vampires."

"They'll come around," Lexa promised. "I've met a few witches who have been more than…" she chewed over her words, "… friendly with vampires; nine times out of ten they are welcomed back into the fold."

Gloria made a show of looking Lexa over. Her eyes roamed from the soft beret to the blue oxford shoes.

Lexa resisted the urge to turn away from the blatant staring and instead set her bag on the table and pulled off her gloves and jacket to reveal the white dress.

"I've been out of touch for a while," Gloria took a sip from her drink, "but would I be correct in assuming you're new in town?"

"I am," Lexa nodded. "My name is Lexa."

"Well then," Gloria flagged down a waiter, "let me buy you a drink to welcome you to my fair city."

"Fair city," Lexa tasted the name as a French 75 was placed in front of her, "I have to admit that is a much better name than the mud city."

"Mmhmm," Gloria sipped her gin Rickey, "although windy is far more accurate."

"Indeed," Lexa's lips puckered when she swallowed, "that's quite sour."

"That'll be the lemon juice, doll," Gloria smirked. She leaned back and crossed her legs under the table. "So what can I do for you?"

Lexa shivered when she felt the foot trail up her calve. She placed her glass on the table and leaned a little closer to meet the young witches glittering brown eyes; she knew the light well. This was hardly the first time someone had directed their gaze in her direction.

"I'm looking for a vampire," Lexa hooked her finger under the chain holding the jade pendant. She didn't miss the way Gloria's eyes darted from her moving lips to her plunging neckline.

"Male or female," Gloria laid her elbows on the table and propped her chin in her hands.

"I'm not picky," Lexa arched a brow. There were brothers and a sister; it didn't matter which one she found first.

"No preference at all, doll?" Gloria tilted her head and slid her foot back up Lexa's leg. "Does it have to be a vampire?"

"I'm afraid so," Lexa lifted her glass and took another sip. "The oldest one you know of would be best."

"The oldest, hmm?" She leaned back and swirled the liquid in her glass. "There're two old ones in town," Gloria ventured after a pause: "a brother and sister. They usually come in every night if you want to stick around. Although I think you might have trouble with the girl," she wiggled her eyebrows, "poor things in love you see."

Lexa smiled and took examined the yellow liquid in her glass. She considered telling Gloria she had no interest in either of them the way she was thinking, but she couldn't bring herself to voice the words. There was a chance, however slim, that the brother was the one she saw in her dreams every night.

"Why do you say poor thing?" Lexa ran her finger around the rim of the glass.

"Her brother is… protective…" Gloria hummed, "he doesn't like the fact that she's got a young beau… although he seems to like the beau."

* * *

Lexa closed her eyes and let the smooth jazz wash over her body. It was soft and comforting enough that she scolded herself and forced her eyes open again. She couldn't let herself get too comfortable; that had been her downfall in New York.

An older witch had spotted her nearly twenty years after meeting her the first time. It hadn't taken long for the whispers to begin, but she had been so comfortable it was not until her apartment building had burnt to the ground that she had realized her error.

She highly doubted anyone would try to kill her here, but she was still alert; it was a by-product of nearly being burnt alive for the second time in her life.

"Are you dead set on a vampire, doll?"

Lexa turned her attention back to Gloria. She was unafraid of the woman and it was kind of flattering to be seen in such a light; it was nice enough that she almost felt bad rejecting her.

"I'm afraid so," Lexa smiled softly. "I kind of have my heart set on it."

"You couldn't be persuaded to go for a witch?" Gloria teased. She heaved a dramatic sigh when the petite blonde shook her head. "In that case I should tell you," she nodded towards a narrow hall, "that one of your vampires just walked in."

Lexa followed her gaze to the slim blond striding towards the powder room.

"That's Rebekah Mikaelson," Gloria explained in a whisper as she nodded to a man checking both coats, "and that's her lover: Stefan Salvatore."

"Not her brother then?" Lexa finished her drink and picked up her hand bag. "Thank you for your help… and your company."

Gloria watched her depart from the table and murmured so quietly only a vampire would have heard.

"Good luck, doll."

* * *

Lexa froze when she stepped into the powder room and saw the ancient vampire sifting through her bag. She saw her pull out a tube of red lipstick before approaching the mirror and cursing.

She had mulled over what she would say on the short walk that had taken an eternity. Everything had seemed so ridiculous to her own ears: 'hi, I know you don't know me, but 221 years ago I had an affair with your brother that somehow resulted in me becoming semi-immortal'. It didn't exactly flow off the tongue, but she was struck with an idea when she saw Rebekah struggle with the red stain on her cheek.

"I've got something that'll lift that right off," Lexa opened her handbag and pulled out a blue vial.

She held out her hand and took the handkerchief from Rebekah. Lexa added a little water to the soft potion and lifted it to gently swipe at the vampire's cheek. The bright red lifted easily to reveal her pale skin; Lexa took the time to steal glances at the woman. This close she could see the resemblance to Kol that she had missed earlier.

"There," she folded the handkerchief and passed it back to Rebekah, "all gone."

"That is amazing," Rebekah reapplied her lipstick. "What is that?"

"Magic," Lexa smirked. She dropped the vial back into her bag. "I made it a while back when I had trouble getting my makeup off. I like the colours," she pulled out her own lipstick, "but I dislike having to scrub it off."

"You're a witch," Rebekah closed her beaded handbag and adjusted her pearl necklace.

"And you're a vampire," Lexa nodded. She got the sense that like her brother she would not have chosen the path her life had taken.

"Yes," Rebekah nodded. She opened her mouth as if to say something more when a knock sounded on the door.

Lexa caught a glimpse of the man in the mirror when Rebekah opened the door to address him.

"I'll be right out." Rebekah returned to the sink and quickly adjusted her beaded headband. "I would love to stay and chat, but my brother wants a word." She picked up her handbag and smiled at Lexa in the mirror. "Thank you for your help; perhaps we could talk later."

"I'd like that," Lexa nodded.  _That will give me time to figure out what to say._

She remained in the powder room for several minutes and was about to rejoin the main room when she heard voices drifting through the wall from the men's room; one was that of Rebekah, the other was a voice that had haunted her nightmares for several decades.

_"You can't control my life forever, Nik. I will love who I want when I want. You do not have a say in that."_

_"I think you'll find I do."_

_"What are you going to do?"_

Lexa could hear the contempt in her voice.

_"Are you going to shove a dagger in my heart like you did with Kol, just because I've finally found a voice of my own? Are you going to cart me around in a mahogany box and only wake me when it's convenient for you?"_

_"If I have to."_

_"I thought you liked Stefan."_

_"I do like him, Rebekah, but he is not good enough for you."_

_"You never think anyone is good enough for me. Perhaps you should let me be the judge of that."_

_"You're a terrible judge of character, love."_

Lexa lost track of their conversation as the facts she had been seeking for centuries were finally laid bare before her. The dagger that had been shoved in his heart was merely incapacitating. If Rebekah spoke the truth, and there was no reason to believe she wasn't as it was a private conversation, then Kol could be awakened and returned to her.

A genuine smile spread over her lips. She was close now; she could feel it. Somehow she knew that Rebekah would be willing to help her when she knew the truth. The knowledge that there was finally someone she could tell the truth to make her heart flutter with happiness.

* * *

Lexa was halfway across the floor with the full intention of approaching Rebekah and the brother who she now recognized as the one who had driven the blade through his chest. He was one half of the duo that had broken her heart into a million pieces and left her to clean up the mess.

She struggled to stifle her simmering rage. It would not do her any good to harm him now; in fact she was certain it would alienate Rebekah. Lexa swore that she would refrain from inflicting any pain until Kol was physically in her presence again, and getting him back would go a lot smoother with his sister's assistance.

She was an arm's length from the back of his head when the whistle blew and a round of bullets flew through the open door.

Lexa grunted and choked on blood when three bullets embedded themselves in her abdomen. She rocked forward and coughed. A wooden bullet landed in her hand.

Over the sound of her own hacking and choking she heard the loud screams as men and women ran in countless directions. When she was finally able to lift her head the police were starting to enter the bar.

Rolling her eyes she dropped onto her side and forced her body to lie limply on the glass strewn floor. Playing dead didn't seem to work though.

She knew it was irrational at this point in her life to fear a single vampire, but when Mikael hoisted her to her feet and set her beside Stefan Salvatore it curled down her spine.

Lexa blinked in surprise when Stefan was unable to answer the questions being asked of him. She seemed to realize when Mikael did that the memories were no longer there.

"How about you?" His eyes widened marginally when he finally turned to look at her. He caught her chin and peered into her emerald green eyes. The brief memory of a trembling woman in a cotton shift flooded his mind's eye.

There was no possible way that this was the same woman. He could tell by the blood on her clothes that she was a human being. Mikael assumed she was a witch; what other explanation was there for her being healed so quickly. She was either a witch or she had been healed by one of his children; that would have explained why he could smell Rebekah and Kol clinging to her skin.

"Does your family hail from Spain, by any chance?"

Lexa's eyes grew round as she nodded. "Along the coast," she whispered quietly. It wasn't hard to follow his train of thought. Logic told him that she couldn't be the same woman and therefore had to be a descendant of herself.

Mikael shook his head to dispel the memory and moved on to his interrogation.

Just like the last time Lexa found she was able to lie to him, and to ignore his compulsion. And just like last time he left everyone in the bar alive. She might have feared Kol's father, but she had to admire his restraint. Lexa figured his brothers must have many enemies, but it was unlikely that Mikael had made any lasting ones in his years hunting his children; aside from his own children of course.

* * *

Never before in her life had she felt such a strong desire to break something as she did when her locator spell failed. It should have been easy with the necklace of Rebekah's that had been left on the floor of the bar, but it wasn't.

She had tried three locator spells of increasing strength to no avail. She feared what it meant that she was unable to find her.

There were a few possibilities each more sinister than the last.

A strong witch was cloaking her.

Her brother had shoved a dagger through her heart.

Her father had found her and killed her.

She raked her fingers through her hair and exhaled slowly to disperse her anger. It worked somewhat in that only ten glasses shattered behind the bar and made Gloria jump.

Lexa smiled apologetically before grabbing her hand bag and running towards the exit. She was halfway down the street when she caught up with him at the entrance to an alley.

"Stefan?" Lexa paused to catch her breath and pressed the necklace into his hand. "This means more to you than it does to me… even if you don't remember why."

"I don't understand," he frowned at the locket. He lifted his gaze to her glistening eyes. "Have we met before?"

"No," Lexa shook her head. "We haven't, and for my own sake I'm going to need you to forget meeting me now." She laid a hand on his chest and pushed him back into the alley.

It had been two hundred and twenty one years since she had used the spell on Emiliano, but she remembered the process vividly. Had she not learned how to telekinetically broken Stefan's neck before beginning she might have found it difficult, but he was in no position to argue with her when he was unconscious in the alley.

When Stefan woke he remembered finding a silver locket and then attacking a girl in the alley. He could only assume Gloria had found him and broken his neck before he could hurt the girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop me a review and let me know what you thought. I'm thinking the next chapter will be her second encounter with Claire. that one will be followed by the start of the dreams that led her to New Orleans before she spends some time with the Halliwells.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO or Outlander
> 
> I'm sorry about the delay in updating. I wanted to get Unobtainable finished before going back to work this week.

 

* * *

1968, Boston

* * *

She slid around the milling students and adjusted the heavy bag on her shoulder. She still wasn't sure what had possessed her to start taking classes at Harvard; maybe she was just bored.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was searching; searching for answers. She was searching for the patterns she could trace into the present. Surely Kol's siblings had left footprints in time; they had lived long enough that there had to be a trace.

Maybe that was why she was taking history classes.

Her shoe caught on one of the cobblestones while she was lost in thought. She stumbled and bumped into another body. She managed to keep herself upright but the books in both of their arms went down spreading papers across the ground.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized profusely. Kneeling on the ground she started gathering up papers and textbooks.

"Nah, it was partially my fault. I'm really distracted today."

"So am I," Lexa chuckled.

"Hey," the woman tilted her head, "I know you. You're the girl in my WWII class. You were correcting the professor."

"Well," Lexa eyes flashed, "I don't like it when people deny the truth."

"You got into quite the debate today." She held out her hand. "I'm Brianna by the way."

"Lexa," she shook the proffered hand.

"How many were you saying were killed?" Brianna fell into step beside her on the way to the library.

"Millions," Lexa frowned. "The numbers were in the millions; it had to be at least six. I don't like people who denied the Holocaust happened."

"Clearly," Brianna nodded, "I thought you were going to haul off and smack Professor Green. Not that the man doesn't deserve it; he's a bit of a pig; I'm not really sure how he got the job."

"Anti-Semitic pig," Lexa nodded. "That tracks." She glanced through the corner of her eyes to find Brianna watching her critically. "What?"

"Nothing," Brianna shook her head. "It's just that… you were so passionate about it. It was almost like you lived through it. Obviously not the case, but it was amazing to watch."

_It was something,_ Lexa's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes took on a haunted look when she remembered the Second World War. Images flooded her mind: gaunt children, hollow eyes, and mass graves. She could almost smell the stench of burning flesh and putrid disease.

"Are you alright?" Brianna reached out and took Lexa's arm.

Lexa swallowed and dispelled the images and smells while cursing her perfect memory. She never could seem to forget anything. She still remembered the smell of the herbs and the gentle caresses of his fingers. She could summon the brilliant turquoise of her mother's eyes and see the petals of her favorite dress that had long since turned to dust. She still saw the hard set of Mikael's jaw and felt the way her shoulder had been wrenched from its socket.

"I'm okay," Lexa closed her eyes and exhaled. "I was just thinking about it. Have you ever seen some of the images? They're haunting; it sticks with you."

"I have," Brianna frowned, "I try not to think about them too much."

Lexa turned to face her when they paused outside the library. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen Brianna somewhere before. Her red hair, slanted dark blue eyes and high cheekbones pulled at her memory, but for the first time in centuries her mind was not cooperating.

"You look really familiar," Lexa tilted her head.

"We are in the same class, Lexa," Brianna chuckled.

"I don't think that's it," Lexa shook her head. Her hair was the colour of a red deer's pelt; incredibly familiar to her and unknown at the same time.

"Well," Brianna smiled, "maybe you've seen me wandering around the campus."

"Maybe," Lexa agreed. She knew that wasn't it though.

* * *

Lexa pursed her lips and examined the brick building in front of her. The soft strains of Christmas carols floated through the window that had been opened to cool down the house. Colourful lights glinted on the tree displayed in the center of the window.

She adjusted the full red skirt of her party dress and took careful steps across the ice strewn path that led to the front door. Raising her hand she knocked tentatively.

The music grew louder when the door was opened by a tall man. She blinked in surprise when she recognized his heavy accent.

"Good evening," he greeted and offered to take her coat.

"Hello," Lexa shed the black wool and brushed the snow from her heels. "I'm Lexa, a friend of Bree's. She invited me. Is she here?"

"Aye," he smiled and nodded to the main room, "she's talking to her mum."

Lexa followed his gaze. She could easily see Brianna where she was facing the entry way. Her vision was partially obstructed by the slim back of the dark haired woman facing her friend.

"I'm sorry," Lexa turned back to him with a smile, "I didn't catch your name. And I'm assuming if you're answering the door that you're someone I should probably be familiar with."

"Roger Mackenzie," he offered her his hand after hanging her coat in the closet.

"Lexa Ricci," she tilted her head. "Are you from the highland Mackenzie's by any chance?"

"You recognized my accent," Roger chuckled. "My family did hail from the area." He led her into the living room and offered her a glass of punch.

Lexa had barely swallowed down her first sip of punch when Brianna took her arm.

* * *

Several hours had passed talking and laughing with Brianna and the family friends. She was just getting ready to pull on her jacket and leave when Brianna caught her arm and pulled her back into the living room where Roger was sitting with an older woman.

"Don't go running of on me now," Brianna laughed. "I want you to meet someone before it gets too late."

"Yes," Lexa shook with laughter, "I do tend to get crabby as the hours drag on."

"Not what I meant," Brianna murmured.

It was clear Lexa was not meant to hear that, but she had. She had heard many things not meant for her ears over the centuries; it was one of the many things she had gotten from him. At least, that was what she assumed.

"Lexa," Brianna stopped by the tree, "I want you to meet my mom. Mom this is my friend…"

"Alexandria?"

Lexa's eyes grew round when she finally got a clear look at the woman she had been skirting around all night.

"Claire Fraser?" Lexa's eyes swiveled from Claire to Brianna and back. "Dios mio," she whispered with her hand over her mouth. Her free hand lifted of its own accord and fingered a few strands of hair. "Dios mio…"

"You two know each other?" Brianna's eyes fell to the fingers now in her hair. "How do you two know each other?"

"She was…" Claire trailed off as she stared at the blonde. She couldn't get the image of the 18th century dress out of her mind.

"She called you Fraser," Brianna took a step back from Lexa.

"I… I…" Lexa's mouth opened and closed a few times.

Claire ignored her daughter's quick questions and the inquisitive eyes of Roger. She stood slowly and came to stand in front of the petite blonde. She hadn't known her that well, but Lexa had very distinctive eyes. It wasn't possible for a descendant to look so much like their ancestor. Besides she had called Claire by her married name.

"How are you alive?" Claire tilted her head.

"It's a long story," Lexa crossed her arms over her chest. "One you wouldn't believe. How are you still alive?"

"It's a long story," Claire returned with a smirk. "One  _you_  wouldn't believe."

Lexa shook her head and sighed. "I've been walking this earth a long time Mrs. Fraser…" she arched an eyebrow, "… you'll find there is very little I won't believe."

Lexa turned her gaze from Claire to her daughter. "Brianna? Scottish in origin. Would I be correct in assuming her hair and eyes are very familiar for a very specific reason?"

She caught the way Claire's heart skipped a beat. "I thought so," Lexa rolled her eyes heavenward before smiling at Brianna. "You look just like your father."

Brianna stared in shock at the woman she had become friends with over the past year. "I'm confused," she murmured quietly, "you knew him?"

"I knew him," Lexa turned her gaze to the tree. She had to assume Roger was up to date on the situation; he probably knew more about it then she did. "I'm glad to see he found you Claire. I assume Jamie found you. I found him you see, and sent him after I'd sent Ned Gowan."

"You sent the lawyer," Claire nodded for her to sit on the couch. "That was very brave of you."

"No it wasn't," Lexa shook her head, "if I were being brave I would have stayed and helped you myself, but I ran."

"You ran?" Claire smoothed down her skirt when she sat. "I'm still reeling with how you're alive… and the same person."

"Like I said you wouldn't believe me," Lexa sighed. "I'm sorry Claire. I should have stayed. I should've broken you out of that thieves hole and helped you get away, but I was scared."

"You know each other?" Brianna raised her voice and interrupted Lexa's musings.

"You're friend here lived in the village beneath Castle Leoch," Claire sighed before turning to Brianna. "She hasn't aged a day."

"I stopped aging long before that," Lexa laughed. "Those were the early days though when I tended to get this big ball of lead in my chest whenever I heard a mob yelling witch."

"There is no such thing as witches," Brianna kicked off her shoes and crossed her legs.

"There is no such as time travel either," Claire gave her a pointed look.

"Time travel?" Lexa cocked an eyebrow. Realization dawned on her face. "The standing stones in Inverness? What are they called…? Craigh na Dun? I've heard of people disappearing from stone circles." She turned her head to face Claire. "I always knew there was something off about you. You and Geillis Duncan."

"She travelled through the stones as well," Claire frowned at the memory.

Lexa lapsed into silence for a moment before remembering what Brianna had muttered under her breath.

"Are you going back? Is that what Bree meant by 'before it's too late'?" Lexa's eyes flickered over Claire's face.

"Could we maybe get back to you?" Roger cleared his throat when Brianna nudged him. "We've established that you were there with Claire but how come you haven't changed or aged?"

"It's not a story I want to share," Lexa swallowed. "Just know that I didn't go through the stones. Claire skipped through time while I endured it."

"You lived through history?" Brianna leaned forward. "You lived through the world wars?"

"And many more I'd rather not discuss," Lexa shook her head. "You want to know why I got so passionate about the Holocaust, Bree? It's because I was there. I saw one of the death camps the week before the end."

She could still remember the screams. She could still remember the migraine she had given herself putting every officer to sleep and clearing a path along the tracks.

"I saved fifty people that day," her sleeping spell hadn't lasted long enough, "and woke up in a mass grave." She had never been more grateful for the spell she had learned for short range transportation. "They shot me," she answered the unasked question. "Here," her finger traced along her ribs. "Enough about me," she shook herself, "back to you: are you planning to go back? Because if you are you should know what you need."

* * *

_She should have known better than to step from the room that night. She should have stayed there and closed her eyes. She should have waited out the dream until waking._

_She should not have strayed._

_That was all she could think when she stepped through the door. She blamed her subconscious and the discussion she'd had with Brianna earlier that day. That was the only reason she could think of for why she found herself in a mass grave beneath several bodies._

_Panic settled in her core when she couldn't move. The words for the spell flew away as the stench of death permeated her nose._

_She closed her eyes tightly and tried to move. Her limbs struggled against the weight of the dead crushing the air from her lungs._

_The screams for help were muffled, and she was certain they were pointless but scream she did. Screaming seemed to be the only thing she could do._

_The sound died in her throat when she felt strong hands close under her arms. The weight of the dead shifted as her body was torn from the pit. She was prepared to struggle against the hands when they pressed her to lie back in the softest grass she had ever felt and retreated._

_Peeking through her eyelashes she opened her eyes completely and caught his hand before he could stand._

_"Where do you think you're going?" The horror of the grave was quickly fading away as the smell of lavender and honeysuckle rose from his hands._

_"I was under the impression you wished for me to leave," he smiled and stretched out beside her._

_"Never," Lexa swore. "I never want you to leave."_

_"Then here I'll stay," he ran his thumb lightly over her knuckles and stared up at the stars._

_She sighed at the ghostly touch that was more like a whisper against her skin. Her eyes found his profile in the light of the crescent moon hanging overhead._

_"This isn't real, is it?" She should have stayed in the room where her subconscious didn't respond._

_"It's as real as you want it to be," he lifted her hand and kissed her palm._

_Unlike the nights they had shared in her bedroom his kiss was cool; the echo of a memory from a day long ago._

_"I want it to be real," she smiled sadly, "but it's not. I'm starting to think I'll never actually see you again."_

_"You see me every night in your dreams."_

_"It's not the same, mi amor," she rolled onto her side. "I want to see you. I want to lay my head on your chest and feel your beating heart. I want to hear your voice and the breath in your lungs, but I don't think I ever will."_

_"Yes you do," he whispered. "If you didn't you wouldn't be taking those classes. You wouldn't be looking everywhere for a sign of my siblings. You know you'll see me again."_

_"How do you know that?" Lexa rolled her eyes at his response._

_"Sometimes you know things."_

_"Sometimes I'm delusional," she scoffed, "and prone to wishful thinking."_

_"That's not it, little witch," he rolled onto his side and gently tapped her temple. "This is something you know."_

_She released a breath of air when the sun rose and he disappeared. She sat up when he was gone and stared at the soft blue ribbon on her white dress before standing and walking through the tall grass until she found the crashing waves of the ocean._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?
> 
> The next chapter is going to mostly take place in her dreams. I'm thinking it will be June 22, 1992... the first of the prophetic dreams that start leading her to NOLA, but not before meeting the sisters in San Francisco... we're getting close.


	14. 1992

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO
> 
> There are a planned 6 chapters left... I worked it out so the whole story should be 20 chapters long... not much longer till she finds him again.

 

* * *

June 22, 1992

* * *

_After nearly three hundred years her dreams had become increasingly clear. It got to the point where she always knew when she was dreaming. It certainly helped that she typically started the night in her bedroom with her immobile lover before choosing to enter the realm of complete unconsciousness._

_Usually she could alter her dreams when she didn't like it, or when she got scared. Like the time she had summoned Kol to save her from the pit of bodies, or when she just wanted to see the sun cresting over the horizon._

_She always knew when she was dreaming, but this didn't feel like a dream. She couldn't alter what was happening. She couldn't effect what was happening; she could only watch._

_She could only stare as the dark haired girl strained under the weight of her task. She couldn't have been any older than Lexa; not any older than Lexa looked anyway._

_Lexa found she could move freely around the room and she used that to her advantage. It had been nearly three hundred years since she had assisted Tia in the birthing chamber and she found she had no desire to see the child being born in the brightly lit office._

_Writing arched over the frosted window of the door._

**_.D .M ,TRETBLIG NOSYARG_ **

_She was just deciphering the backwards lettering on the door when the baby wailed. She turned away from the door and tried to understand the fluttering in her chest when she laid eyes on the baby girl._

* * *

_She never could make sense of any of these visions. She knew that was what they were at this point in time._

_Why else would she clearly see one of Kol's brothers with the girl whose birth she had witnessed in another unchangeable dream?_

_She tried to block his path when he locked eyes with the girl, a young woman now. It was in vain. The vampire passed directly through her._

_Anger surged in her chest when his hand closed around the brunette's arm. It dispelled quickly when the sudden certainty that the Original would never cause the girl physical harm settled over her shoulders._

_The images seemed to blur together after that._

_Lexa got the impression the girl was terrified of him at first, but that it had more to do with the circumstances of the meeting than with him._

_That impression grew to a certainty when she saw the grudging respect grow to admiration with the striking of several deals that she couldn't always hear. By the time she was watching the brunette climb into her car in the dead of night outside the sprawling mansion the admiration in his eyes had turned to affection._

* * *

_Lexa wasn't sure how much time had passed._

_She wasn't sure how long it had been since the girl had left him outside that mansion, but she got the sense that it had been several years._

_That was what she thought when her consciousness popped into the crowded bar. She caught a glimpse the brother she knew to be Elijah leaving through the door with the brunette. She made to follow them only to have the street fade away before she could make out any discerning features._

_The asphalt melted, twisted and morphed into cold stone._

_She saw the very clear features of a young woman as she glared at Elijah._

_From the corner of her eyes she saw the magical paraphernalia, and the woman she had been seeing all night. On her other side she sensed the stare that had been on her body since landing in the room._

_Lexa couldn't alter anything in the room, but the way the vampires turned to look at her told her she was most definitely part of the scene. She was there. She was with them. She was six feet away from him._

_Before she could close the distance and wrap her arms around his neck, and never let go again, the scene faded away. The last thing she saw was the girl standing with her over the body of a vampire with two other women._

_Lexa couldn't understand why her eyes were drawn to the bump on the brunette's stomach._

* * *

So went the nineties. Time passed by and the dreams that were not dreams continued. Sometimes it was just flashes. Sometimes she saw short scenes. Sometimes she saw the faces of the witches from the stone room.

It always ended with him. Sometimes he was looking at her as if he could actually see her. Sometimes his hands were on her body. Sometimes she saw the brunette at the same time.

The thing that perplexed her was when she saw Elijah and the woman staring out at the heavy snow. The way his hands had settled lovingly, protectively, over the swell of her stomach was very telling.

The child she carried was his.

Unfortunately, the rest of her visions were not. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if she could find the brunette she would find Kol, but she had no idea where to start.

The recurring vision seemed to be the one in the bar, but it was still a long way from being clear. She knew it would be years before she received enough information to find them from that one scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter was shorter than the others, but I'm planning on trying to get the chapters out faster now so they might be a little shorter, or they could be absurdly long... all depends on the muse.


	15. 2003

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD, TO, or Charmed.
> 
> There are 5 chapters left and most of them take place down in New Orleans.

 

* * *

San Francisco, 2003

* * *

"You might want to stand back a bit," Piper suggested. "This is a highly volatile potion you're trying to make."

"It has to be," Lexa pinched the billings root.

"You want to tell me why you're altering a power stripping potion?" Piper leaned against the counter and separated the final ingredients.

"I just like to be prepared," Lexa added the root. "You never know when you'll need to take the power away from something." She carefully poured the mixture into the plastic bottle and secured the lid. "Don't worry though; I've no intention of ever using it on a witch."

"I should hope not," Piper frowned, "it would strip their powers and the lining of their stomach."

"I would think it would destroy the whole body," Lexa wrapped the bottle in a towel. "How long do I have to shake it?"

Piper walked around the counter and set on a barstool so she could read the book. The entry was faded around the edges and needed to be touched up.

"It says you need to shake it for two hundred heartbeats," she tilted her head and bit her lip. "Of course, that was before you made the changes."

Lexa eyed the added assembly of ingredients. She nibbled on her cheek and tried to run the calculations in her head, but one number kept popping up.

"Eight hundred and eighty nine," she nodded decisively.

"That's rather specific," Piper reached for the blood pressure cuff, "it has to be your heartbeat."

Lexa waved off the cuff. "I've got it," she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "I know how many beats a minute my heart goes."

She ignored Piper's questions about how she could possibly know that and focused on the gentle beating of her heart. She kept a careful count and didn't open her eyes again until she made the final shake. When she finally looked the liquid in the bottle had turned a soft pink.

"What's next?" Lexa uncapped the bottle and read the Book of Shadows upside down. She reached for the pinch of dandelion. She poured the liquid back into the pot and reheated it over a low setting before stirring in the flower.

"The last ingredient is a dash of chickweed," Piper watched her measure out the ingredient. "A little more hon," she nodded when Lexa added more, "that enough."

"Thanks," Lexa removed the potion from the heat. "Now, if I understand this correctly the potion will turn blood red when it cools."

"Oh goodie," Paige slipped through the door, "we're already brewing."

"Yes, we are," Piper moved to lift her infant son when he started to cry, "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah," Phoebe paused to coo to the baby, "There is a demon terrorizing the town."

"Get your pitchforks and torches," Lexa muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Paige started pulling down the ingredients for the vanquishing potion.

"Nothing," Lexa murmured, "don't worry about it." She moved to bottle the power stripping potion and watched the thick liquid slowly dribble into the small bottle. She added it to the slim box of potions she kept stored in her purse.

"So," Lexa closed her bag, "what's the deal with the demon?"

* * *

One of these days she would start questioning her life choices. One of these days she would ask why she was putting herself in the way of danger. Eventually somebody was going to find a way to make her death permanent; that should have been enough to make her more careful.

It should have been enough to make her run for the hills when the warlock blinked into the house. Little Wyatt didn't really need protection; he had his force field, but she still jumped in front of him.

Her body had started acting independently from her head.

It was a good thing she did it too because this particular warlock was creative. It had come with a means to take down Wyatt's shield.

Moments after she had stepped beside the bassinet she saw the field fall. She glanced at the squirming infant quickly before turning to the assailant.

She waved her hand to send the energy ball flying in the opposite direction.

* * *

"Do you ever get the feeling Lexa's hiding something?" Piper ran her finger over the vanquishing potion.

"All the time," Paige nodded. "There is something off about her."

"Are you saying you don't trust her?" Phoebe peered around the corner.

"Of course not," Piper shook her head. "I trust her. If I didn't I wouldn't have left her with Wyatt, and Wyatt trusts her that's enough for me. I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't curious though."

The sister's lapsed into silence when the sharp screams echoed around the corner. They moved quickly and pulled out the spell to use with the potion.

* * *

Lexa bit down on her bottom lip against the burning in her calve. She fell to the ground and muttered a spell to throw up a temporary shield to give her time to heal. She held the edge of the bassinet and swallowed her rising bile when she saw her bone.

It was a morbid, macabre, sight but she couldn't look away as the muscle and blood vessels knit themselves back together painfully until she was left with a mass of blood on her perfectly healed leg.

"Oh Wyatt," Lexa clambered back to her feet, "what I wouldn't give for your mommy's power right now." She rolled her neck as her spell dropped and ducked out of the way of the next energy ball. Her hands moved faster than they ever had before when she pushed the bassinet behind the sofa.

The softest sound reached her ears over Wyatt's cries. It was enough to distract her from the ball of light hurtling towards her midsection.

She cried out sharply when it hit and sent her flying through the air. Her back collided with the wall as her elbow broke the window.

Lexa slumped against the ground and grimaced. Her fingers lifted from her stomach and came away covered in blood. The red stained her skin and the jade pendant around her wrist. She managed to crawl backwards until she was encased in Wyatt's glowing force field; she didn't know when or how the baby had regenerated the shield, but she was immensely grateful for it.

* * *

Piper darted around the edge of the couch and lifted her screaming son from the bassinet. Her eyes grew round when she saw the gaping wound in Lexa's abdomen.

"Leo!" She bounced Wyatt gently in an attempt to sooth him. "Leo!"

"Oh my…" Phoebe fell to her knees beside Lexa and lifted her ruined blouse. Bile rose in her throat. "This is why I didn't become a doctor." She focused on the back of the couch. "I can't stand the sight of blood."

"Then you might be in the wrong profession," Lexa quipped. "Demon hunting leads to a lot of blood."

"Leo," Piper cried. "Get down here now! Lexa's hur…"

Piper trailed off slowly. A line appeared between her brows when she knelt beside the blonde.

"Where is she?" Leo orbed into the living room.

"Over here," Piper's voice was lighter than air.

Leo circled around the couch quickly where he saw the sister's bent over Lexa. He could see the trepidation in her green eyes as she slowly propped herself up and avoided the stares of her friends.

"I thought you said she was hurt," Leo ran his eyes over the slim frame. He could see a mess of blood and small pieces of glass clinging to her hair, but there were no wounds to be seen.

"She was," Paige tilted her head and eyed the large hole in the ruined blouse. Her eyes slowly slid down to the singed material of Lexa's jeans. "She should have died."

* * *

Lexa emerged from the bathroom in borrowed clothes. Her hair was still wet from the shower when she cautiously stepped into the living room where Paige and Phoebe were cleaning the glass from the window and Leo was gathering the broken pieces of the grandfather clock.

"Why do they always go for the clock?" Piper shook her head. "I've lost track of how many times I've had that thing fixed."

"That was actually me," Lexa whispered. "The warlock managed to take down Wyatt's shield. I redirected one of the energy balls… I got hit with a few more." Her stomach grumbled loudly. She was always hungry after her body healed from a large wound; she hated that she knew that fact.

"Are you hurt?" Piper lowered Wyatt into the bassinet.

Lexa shook her head and crossed her arms. She struggled to remember the words to the teleportation spell when she felt their eyes on her.

How did it go? What was the phrase? She hadn't used it since waking in that pit. She had put it out of her mind the same way she had the grave; it was buried in the recesses of things she longed to forget.

"Good," Phoebe balanced the broom against the wall. "Let's chat," she took Lexa's arm and steered her to the undamaged furniture in the sun room.

"About what?" Lexa avoided their eyes when everyone took a seat.

"You know what," Paige braced her elbows on her knees. "Rapid healing is not a power held by witches… that's why we have white lighters."

"Your skin knit itself back together Lexa," Piper tilted her head when Wyatt stirred.

"That something unique to other supernatural races," Phoebe tilted her head to watch her friend's face. "What are you?"

"I'm a witch," Lexa crossed her arms and swallowed.

Phoebe arched an eyebrow. "Oh don't give me that," she scoffed. "You've been hiding something since we met you. I think it's high time you told us."

"I've never told anyone," Lexa shook her head.

"Why not?" Phoebe leaned back. "It's not like we're going to burn you at the stake."

Lexa closed her eyes as the memory of smoke filled her mind and lungs.

"We know you're a witch, Lexa," Piper reached over and adjusted the blue blanket. "You're something else though. Are you half demon?"

"No," Lexa shook her head. "My mother was a witch. My father was human."

Phoebe gave Piper and Paige a sideways look. They clearly weren't asking the right questions.

"How did you heal on your own? Why did you heal?" Paige pushed her hair behind her ear.

"It's a soul connection," Lexa's eyes widened as the truth fell from her lips. It came out in waves once she started. "Soulmate's share their abilities and powers with each other."

Paige tilted her head. "What is your soulmate?"

"Vampire," Lexa wanted to slap her hand over her mouth. She knew at that point they had used some sort of truth spell, but she couldn't bring herself to care. This was the first time she had ever vocalized what had happened to her. "His siblings tore him away from me a long time ago. I thought he was dead; I thought they killed him, but he's still alive somewhere."

"How do you know that?" Piper breathed.

"Sometimes I know things," Lexa lifted her gaze from his hands, "and I know he's alive. I know I'm going to find him again." She ran her finger tips over her stomach. "I'm alive because he's still alive because I healed; the connection is lost when one soulmate dies. It took me a long time to learn that; and one overheard conversation."

"How long have you been alive?" Phoebe tilted her head.

Lexa bit down on her cheek and swallowed the answer on the tip of her tongue. She had to concentrate for a moment before discovering she couldn't lift the spell; instead she made one of her own that let her override theirs.

"A lady never tells," she managed a tight smile.

"Awe come on," Phoebe pleaded, "how old: 30, 40, 50, 60…. Stop me when I get close."

"I already told you Phoebe," Lexa shook with a soft laugh, "a lady never tells."

"70… 80…" Piper smirked.

"90?" Paige arched an eyebrow and smiled. "Why didn't you want to tell us? We've known you years, Lexa."

"The longer people know me the more likely they are to storm my home with torches and pitchforks." Lexa shoulders relaxed under the sudden knowledge that they didn't seem to care. Still she needed to be sure. "You do realize this means I'm in love with a vampire, right? Someone you would consider evil."

"Vampires are different than the rest," Piper frowned. "Usually they are alright so long as they've retained their humanity."

"Besides," Phoebe rolled her eyes, "we're hardly ones to judge. Or have you forgotten my ex-husband?"


	16. 2011

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO or Charmed.

 

* * *

New Orleans, 2011

* * *

After nineteen years the dreams had grown more vivid, and by that she meant she could hear voices. The accents were difficult to decipher in that crowded bar; there were many people from different parts of the world, but she had found that by focusing on the voice of the brunette entering the kitchen she could work it out.

She was the same woman from the stone room who glared at Elijah. She only ever said a few words, so it took three years and a shared memory with Phoebe to identify the accent.

She had gambled when she left San Francisco. There was no other way to describe her decision. She took a chance.

That was how she came to find herself in Rousseau's sitting at the bar sipping a vintage cocktail that reminded her of Gloria.

She was fairly certain she was sitting in the exact seat the girl would one day occupy.

"Do you need anything else?"

Lexa looked up from where she had been running her finger around the rim of her glass.

"Maybe," she offered a half smile and read the name tag, "Camille. That's a pretty name. Do you go by that or Cami?"

"Cami," the other blond laughed. "You're the first to ever ask."

"Well," she smirked, "like you I know the importance of nicknames. I'm Lexa," she extended her hand over the bar, "because Alexandria is such a mouthful."

Lexa laughed with Cami for a moment before crossing her arms on the bar.

"So, what 'might' you need, Lexa?" Cami started wiping down the counter with a rag.

"I'm new in town," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You could almost say I moved down with the clothes on my back," she fingered the bag in her lap. "I'm looking for an apartment. Preferably, somewhere in the Quarter."

"I don't know of anything," Cami shook her head, "but you could ask Sophie. She recently moved back to town and went through the whole finding a place to live thing. She might know of some places. I can introduce you if you like," she glanced at the clock behind the bar, "her shift ends in twenty minutes."

"That would be great," Lexa grinned. "Is it okay if I wait here, or do you need the stool?"

"You're fine there," Cami chuckled.

Lexa nodded her thanks before pulling out her chiming cell phone.

**PHOEBE – Having any luck? You can always come back.**

**Lexa – I can't come back. You know that… people were starting to stare.**

**PHOEBE – You can come back. We'll find the name of the best plastic surgeon so when people do stare you can give them a name.**

**Lexa – Very funny… you are hilarious**

**PHOEBE – Aw come on sweetie that was a good plan. People stare you can claim plastic surgery.**

**Lexa – I'd rather not do that. Besides… I think I'm close… I know I'm close.**

**PHOEBE – Alright, just remember you are always welcome with us. You can come visit me in the nursing home and I'll call you my granddaughter.**

**Lexa – Thanks Pheebs**

* * *

Lexa couldn't have described the joy that bubbled up in her body. It positively made her insides glow. She was certain she could have cut herself open and found her blood to be effervescent.

Sophie was the chef at Rousseau's. Sophie was a short brunette with anger issues. Sophie was the woman she had seen standing in front of Elijah.

* * *

"There are a lot of apartments in this building," Sophie came to a stop in front of a tall brick building on Bienville St. "Everything from one bedroom to three."

"One is all I need," Lexa smiled.

Sophie followed her inside the building and up a flight of stairs to view an apartment. Lexa was filling out the paperwork when she peeked up at Sophie through her lashes.

"So," she hummed, "what's the building's policy on pentagrams being drawn on the floor?"

"What?" Sophie choked.

"I guess you don't actually live in the building, so you wouldn't know," Lexa mused quietly.

"You're a witch?" Sophie arched an eyebrow. She tilted her head when Lexa nodded. "Where is your coven?"

"My coven consisted of my family," Lexa's good mood faded a bit; "they died a long time ago."

"I'm sorry," Sophie leaned against the kitchen counter and carefully laid a hand on Lexa's shoulder.

"Thanks," she swallowed. "It was a long time ago, but it still hits me sometimes that knowledge that they're gone."

* * *

A few days later Lexa was curled on the couch in her new apartment and flipping through Kol's old grimoire. She paused for a moment to trace the delicate petals of the daisy. Her fingers barely touched the flower that had all but crumbled away within the confines of the runes.

Slowly, carefully, she pressed the tip of her middle finger to the brown stem. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Phasmatos Tribum, plantus vivifey, plantus herbus."

The magic traveled the length of her arm and swirled around the decayed plant. When she opened her eyes again the daisy was whole; the white petals as pure as freshly fallen winter snow.

She inhaled the soft smell before turning her head towards the door where she could hear the soft strain of voices. She was on her feet when they knocked. She black leather pressed closed in her hands and the daisy between her fingers.

"Hi Sophie," Lexa tilted her head and smiled when she opened the door.

"Hey," Sophie smiled tightly. "Some of the coven heard about you. Sabine here wanted to meet you."

Lexa turned to the other woman in her door frame. She couldn't quite understand the chill that ran down her spine. It was just a feeling that persisted while they came in and joined her for a cup of tea; it made no sense though because she seemed so pleasant.

* * *

"Well," Agnes crossed her arms when Sabine and Sophie returned.

"She's definitely hiding something," Sabine straightened her jacket.

"Like what," Agnes tilted her head.

"She's immortal," Sabine shrugged.

"A witch can prolong their life with the use of herbs," Sophie swallowed.

"Yeah, but they still age," Sabine shook her head. "She hasn't aged."

* * *

_"I'm close," she stared at the ceiling, "I know I am."_

_Her breathing was shallow when she closed her eyes and turned her head. Opening her eyes she saw the same grey skin she'd been seeing for centuries._

_"Now if only you'd wake up."_

_Lexa sighed and pushed herself onto her elbow. Her fingertips gently traced his cheekbone._

_"I know you will soon though," she remembered the image of Sophie, "she's not much older in my vision. Unless she starts using herbs then I know I'll see you soon, but for now," she stood from the bed, "I'm going to try and summon a few more visions."_

_"I love you," she bent over the edge of the bed and kissed his cheek before taking a deep breath and pulling open the door._

* * *

_The lingering pressure made him raise his fingers to his tingling cheek._

_Through the slits of his eyes he saw a flash of the pale hand pulling the door closed before the edges of the bedroom faded to black. The last thing he saw before the darkness took over was a vase of daisies._

* * *

"Good morning," Rebekah looked up from her book when he stirred. "Elijah and I had to go out of our way to talk Nik into taking out the dagger." She stood and pressed a bag into his hands. "Here, times have changed."

"Is this," he grimaced at the hoarse quality of his voice, "blood in a bag?"

"Yup," she perched on the edge of the bed and rolled her eyes when he tore into the edge with his teeth. "Once you've replenished I'll show you an easier way to open them."

* * *

"Where the bloody hell do you think you're going?" Rebekah flashed in front of him.

"I'm leaving, Rebekah," Kol moved to go around her. He glared when she blocked his path again.

"You can't just go," she frowned, "we just got you back."

"And unlike you I know when to disembark a sinking ship," he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "I need to be away for a while. I want to live on my own without the threat of a dagger hanging over my head."

Kol's eyes flickered from his sister to a slim brunette when she stepped into the courtyard. His eyes narrowed and ran over her slim frame.

"I would have knocked," she swallowed nervously, "but the gates were open."

"Its fine," Rebekah grumbled. "Maybe you can help me talk some sense into my idiot brother."

"I'm assuming that's the idiot brother I don't know," Elena smiled up at him.

"You must be the latest doppelganger," Kol inclined his head, "the one with the nerve to make a deal with Nik."

"That's me," she nodded. "I'm Elena."

"Kol Mikaelson," he lifted her hand to his lips.

"Do behave yourself Kol," Klaus called from the top of the stairs. "Elena has a tumultuous enough love life as it is; she doesn't need you thrown in the mix."

"Not my intention," Kol released her hand. "I'm just on my way out. Perhaps I'll see you again Elena."

"She has been keeping her word," Klaus smirked while crossing the courtyard.

"I told you I would," she smiled tightly, "once every six months."

Kol watched Elena follow his hybrid brother into the library. He had been shocked when he woke and learned Klaus had broken his curse; he had been even more surprised to learn the doppelganger had somehow survived and was necessary for the creation of hybrids.

"Don't go," Rebekah caught his arm when he reached the door, "please."

"You didn't fight this hard to keep Elijah from leaving the house," Kol pulled his arm free.

"Elijah will be back in a few days," Rebekah rolled her eyes. "You have a tendency to vanish for decades at a time."

"Rebekah I need some time," he insisted when they stepped out into the street. He huffed when she blocked his car with her body; he could have just run her over and gone on his way, but there was a rather large crowd in the street. "How about a deal? Will that get you out of my way?"

"Depends on the deal," Rebekah arched an eyebrow.

"How about the one…" he waved his finger, "… Elena has with Nik? I'll come back in six months."

"If you don't," Rebekah leveled him with a threatening stare, "I'm going to get a witch to track you down."

"I'll see you in December, Rebekah," he turned over the ignition.

He was halfway through Texas before he stopped to think about where he was going.

* * *

_Dreams really sucked._

_That was all she could think when she fell asleep in her bed surrounded by flowers and woke in her aunt's garden._

_The moon illuminated the layer of snow that blanketed the herbs. Winter was in full swing._

_She didn't know what it meant when she didn't start out in the bedroom; it had been a hundred years, nearly, since she had skipped straight to the subconscious._

_Was he awake? Were her visions wrong? Was he finally dead?_

_She jumped to her feet before she could lose herself to the dark thoughts. Her bare feet skimmed the ground as she followed her ears towards the chaos in the fields._

_She reached out with her hands and trailed her fingers over the rough bark of a tree and the frosted grass that reached her waist. Glancing over her shoulder she gasped when she saw the grass and flowers springing up under the footprints she had left in the snow._

_She turned away from the early signs of spring and slowly entered the field. She found signs that the flowers had been trampled under heavy hooves and caught a glimpse of a large animal on the edges of the field before the sun rose and the scene disappeared in a vision of white._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not long now... it might feel long, but not long now.


	17. 2014

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.
> 
> This chapter goes from November to mid January

 

* * *

New Orleans, November 2014

* * *

She hoisted the box in her arms and used her hip to push open the door to Rousseau's. She stumbled over her heels and gasped when a pair of arms steadied her.

"You really need to be more careful," Thierry's eyes flicked to her shoes, "and you really shouldn't be lugging around boxes of… lights…" he arched an eyebrow, "in high heels."

"I happen to like my heels," Lexa rolled her eyes and laughed. "I can do anything you can do, and I can do it better while wearing high heels."

She paused when she caught his amused gaze. "Alright," she sighed, "anything a human man can do."

"Whatever you say," he chuckled. "Do you need some help?"

"No thanks," she shook her head, "I've got it."

"Hey," Cami grinned when she spotted her, "there's my helper. I was beginning to think you got lost."

"I live two streets over," Lexa snickered. "I got caught up with something, but I'm here now. Your unpaid help has arrived to decorate." She looked down into the box. "We really should have thought it through last year when we cleaned up."

Cami tossed the rag down on the counter and leaned over the bar. "Don't tell me…"

"We did," Lexa tilted her head. She sat the box on a stool and lifted a tangled wire. "I'm thinking we might have been a little tipsy on New Year's Day."

"Well," Cami shook her head, "let that be a lesson to us: never clean up while drunk."

"Tipsy," Lexa clarified. "I'm going to go and monopolize that table over there," she nodded to the corner, "so I can untangle these. With any luck I'll have them ready to go in an hour."

"Just in time for the lull," Cami smirked.

Lexa chuckled before moving through the crowds to the empty table. She lost track of time while she was busy untangling the mess of Christmas lights. She glanced up every now and then, but it wasn't until she was midway through the box that her attention was grabbed.

The breath caught in her throat when she saw the brunette sitting on the barstool. She recognized Diego, and she recognized the kicked puppy look on his face. What surprised her the most was that she recognized the woman.

She was the woman from her dreams. Her dark hair fell in loose waves to her shoulders.

Lexa saw the surprise flicker over her face. She saw the soft smile and the happy gleam in her eyes. There were too many people in Rousseau's for her to overhear the conversation when Elijah sat beside the brunette on the stool and ordered a drink.

Lexa wondered if she was imagining the clear attraction between the two. She was certain she could see an almost magnetic pull drawing them together. Even when they lapsed into silence the looks cast between them were full of longing.

Lexa slid through the crowds when she saw them moving. It took her a moment when she emerged on the now dark street to locate them, but locate them she did.

Maybe it was creepy to follow from a distance, but she followed them. She maintained thirty paces between herself and the couple and watched them chat. Lexa paused across the street from the building and read the sign 'The Abattoir'; she heard the faint strains of laughter and caught a glimpse of them through the crowd on the street.

She saw the moment the laughter ended. She saw the moment the air flew from the brunette's lungs.

She turned away when she saw the first kiss.

She knew he wasn't in there; not at that moment in time. She turned away and spun back around to return to the restaurant.

* * *

Kol froze in the street when he caught the faintest trace of lavender in the air; it brought the image of fresh daisies to his mind. He could almost smell them when he stood across the street from his family home.

He could have sworn when he opened his eyes that he saw blond curls rounding the far corner.

_I'm going mad;_  he exhaled before flashing into the house,  _completely mad._

"I was wondering if you were ever coming home," Rebekah grinned when he appeared in the library.

"I was actually here last night," Kol dropped onto the couch with a half-hearted smirk, "but you being the strumpet that you are were out."

Rebekah's grin tightened. It was almost angelically sweet when she picked up a pencil and threw it at his face.

"Your aim is improving," Kol caught the projectile, "you need to put more strength behind it though if you have any hope of actually harming me."

"I'll keep that in mind," she huffed. Flopping back in her chair she crossed her arms and settled him with a glare. "How long will you stay this time? Are you going to flit off again after a week?" She focused on the dark circles beneath his eyes.

"No," Kol shook his head, "I think I'm going to stay for a while."

* * *

_She trailed her fingers over the tall grass while walking through the fields. The flowers sprang up beneath her hands and bare feet._

_The snow was all but gone now._

_The heat from the sun warmed her skin._

* * *

"Kol don't get me wrong," Rebekah leaned against the door frame, "I'm glad your home. I really am, and I don't want you to leave, but you need to sleep."

"I'm fine," he shrugged one shoulder and stared at his book, "perfectly fine."

"Have you slept since you've come home?" She walked into the room and sat back against his headboard.

"Nope," he shook his head, "you know we don't need that much sleep, Bekah."

"It's been six weeks," Rebekah tipped her head back, "you haven't slept in four weeks." She reached over and snatched his book. "When you first got back you had dark circles under your eyes, so I'm guessing you hadn't slept for at least a week before that."

"What's your point, Bex?" He sighed deeply.

"My point is you need to sleep," she gave him a hard look. "You need to stop reading. You need to stop pulling stupid pranks around the house. You need to sleep."

"I'm not tired," he denied while stifling a yawn. "And my pranks are not stupid; they are hilarious. That thing yesterday with the glitter and the balloons was pure genius."

"You only think that because you haven't slept in a month," Rebekah grimaced. "Why are you so hesitant to close your eyes?"

"I'm not," he laid down to prove his point. He didn't intend to fall asleep, but the moment he closed his eyes he went out like a light.

"About bloody time," Rebekah sighed before carefully standing up and pulling her brother's door shut.

* * *

_She tilted her head when she saw the door pop up in the middle of the field. The knotted wood was more than familiar to her; she opened it almost every night._

_This was the first time it had ever shown up after she had entered her subconscious._

_Her steps were slow. Her hands ran over the wood lightly while making for the iron handle. She swallowed once and drew in a deep breath._

* * *

_When he opened his eyes it was to stare at the late morning light filtering over the ceiling. He stared in silence for a moment before turning his head and sighing at the daisies._

_"I'm definitely going mad," he climbed to his feet. Slowly he ran his hand along the smooth wall and plucked a daisy from the vase. "Completely mad," he murmured._

_The soft sound of a lock clicking drew his attention to the door. He was across the room when it opened._

_She froze when she stepped through the door. Every muscle in her body became immobile. She tipped her head back slowly in time with the swinging door._

_She heard it click when she looked into his dark eyes._

_"Completely mad," his voice was a breath of air that didn't quite reach her ears. "Hello, little witch."_

_She opened her mouth to speak only to be cut off by a vigorous pounding on wood. What was strange was that it seemed to come from everywhere, and he couldn't hear it._

_"Are you going to say anything, Elskling?"_

_"I…" She leaned into the hand he laid on her cheek and closed her eyes to drown out the voice. "I…" she groaned and closed her eyes. "Mierda… why now?"_

_"Elskling?" He lifted his hand as if to cradle her face only to have her vanish before his eyes._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So close... I dropped a few hints in here about when this chapter ends.
> 
> Who can guess the reason she was torn away?


	18. 2015

* * *

January 2015

* * *

"What?" Lexa snapped. She tore open the door to the apartment and tried not to glare at Sophie for interrupting what had been the first shared dream in nearly a year.

"Get dressed," Sophie smiled tightly, "I need your help with something."

"I was having such a good dream," Lexa sighed deeply.

"It's nearly eleven," Sophie tilted her head, "it's high time you were up and about."

She rolled her eyes before disappearing into her bedroom and emerging in a pair of skinny jeans and a blue dolman sleeve blouse that tapered off at the wrist. She pulled on her black ankle boots and grabbed her purse.

* * *

Lexa's eyes roamed from one witch to the next before settling on Sabine and Sophie. It was insane what they were saying. It wasn't possible what they were implying. Vampires couldn't have children.

Vampires were dead; they couldn't reproduce.

Everything she had learned. Everything she had been taught by her mother, her aunt, and every other teacher she had ever had flew from her head when she remembered Agatha.

Witches couldn't be immortal. Humans didn't heal at an exponential rate.

She had gotten so many things from Kol. Was it possible that a vampire could gain things from their human counterparts?

It only took one look at the unconscious pregnant woman for her to know. She didn't have to touch the brunette to know her unborn baby had been fathered by the vampire. She could have pinpointed the day it happened; she remembered the meeting vividly. The image of the first kiss six weeks before came screaming back to her.

"What exactly are you planning to do with her?" She didn't know the brunette from Eve but she wanted to protect her and the child.

"The doppelganger will be bound to one of us for leverage," Sabine smiled.

Lexa didn't like the light that danced through her dark eyes. It was full of glee. Sabine looked like the cat that ate the canary.

"Is everything ready?" Davina stepped down into the chamber.

"Yes," Sabine nodded, "in a matter of moments the mother will be linked to Sophie."

"Good," Davina looked towards the paraphernalia, "we're going to need some added insurance."

Lexa's eyes narrowed when she heard the sound of a speeding heart around the corner. She took a look at the witches as they joined hands. There were too many for her to take out alone. The last time she had tried a mass sleeping spell she had wound up with several bullets in her body.

She chewed on her lip before slipping around the corner. She couldn't stop Sophie now, but she could try and put the mother at ease. She knew elevated blood pressure was not good; it could even lead to a miscarriage.

She clamped her hand over the brunette's mouth when she saw the scream working its way up and out of her throat.

"Shh, I'm here to help you," Lexa's eyes met hers. She inclined her head to the adjoining chamber and kept her voice low. "There are four witches out there," she heard the sound of a few departing, "and I can't take them all on my own, so I need you to be quiet."

Relief settled in Lexa's chest when she heard the woman's heartbeat slow down. She answered the question, she could see in her eyes, in a hushed whisper.

"They want to bind you to Sophie so that they can use you as leverage. I can't stop them, not without getting myself killed, but I can reverse it later." She had been alive for centuries without dying. Nobody had ever done any lasting damage to her, but she felt certain that if anyone could manage to finally end her life it was the coven around the corner.

She would be damned if she had gotten this close only to lose him now.

"What's the hold up?" Davina rounded the corner. She held a shallow bowl in her hand. "We need to seal the binding spell now."

Lexa resisted the urge to groan when she heard Agnes call around the corner. "Are you sure this will work Davina?"

"Yes," she replied while stepping forward and kneeling on the ground, "Elijah Mikaelson will do anything for family."

Lexa could feel the fear that curled down the brunette's spine. She didn't think it had anything to do with the curved knife Davina lifted and used to slice into her palm.

"I'm sorry," Lexa mouthed and caught the blood in the bowl.

"Are you coming?" Davina turned to stare at the Lexa when she didn't follow.

"No," Lexa shook her head and settled back on her knees. "I'll stay here for a minute and wrap her cut." She sighed when she felt Davina's sceptical look. "It won't do you any good if she develops an infection."

"I'm Lexa," she pulled a white bandage from her bag and wrapped it over the brunette's hand when Davina left. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the girl, who introduced herself as Elena, was Elijah's soulmate; it was obvious when only a think line of blood seeped into the bandage. The wound had healed.

"I'm just going around the corner," Lexa took hold of Elena's hands and carefully pulled the ties free. "Wait here, please," trepidation curled down her spine. "I've got the strangest feeling that things are about to turn violent."

Lexa had been right. She had been around the corner less than two minutes before Elijah lost it and took out two of the witches before making for Sophie.

Lexa cursed when she heard Elena starting to choke. The hope that the Original had arrived before the spell could be completed faded instantly.

She didn't hesitate before raising her hand and sending Elijah Mikaelson to his knees. She lifted the spell when Sophie was free and reached out to steady Elena who had stumbled around the corner.

"If you kill her you kill Elena," Lexa's voice was deadly calm. She glanced at the bodies of the dead witches and made a mental note when she saw Davina and Sabine were both gone.

Kol froze when he stepped into the crypt and heard a voice he hadn't heard outside of his dreams in centuries. The accent had changed, but it was still her voice. His immediate thought was that someone had turned her shortly after the daggering in the tavern, but that faded when he realized she was the one who had given Elijah a splitting headache.

He turned back into the conversation when he registered the knowledge of Elena's impossible pregnancy.

"Is it just me," he couldn't stop the grin, "or have you yet to explain how this is possible?"

"I can explain that," Lexa fought down her desire to run into his arms, "but perhaps it should wait until Elena has had a chance to change, and relax."

"Who are you?" Klaus turned to stare at the petite blonde.

"Her name is Lexa," Kol's grin turned to a smirk. "I agree with her; Elena needs a chance to change out of that dress, it can't be comfortable." He waved to the formal party dress. "Explanations can wait until we get back to the compound," he turned his attention to Sophie, "assuming Miss Deveraux will allow us to take her from the crypt; it's no place for an expectant mother."

* * *

"Did you know," he stepped over the threshold into her apartment, "that I thought I was going mad?"

Lexa sighed when she felt his arms wrap around her waist. She could feel his heart beating out a steady rhythm against her back; it moved in time with hers. She closed her eyes and covered his hands with hers.

"I was certain of it," he held her close and inhaled the soft smell of her shampoo. "I smelt lavender on every corner. I saw blond ringlets," he raised one hand to tug gently on a curl, "from the corner of my eye."

"It seems you saw more signs of me than I did of you," she hummed when he nuzzled her neck and placed a soft kiss to her throat.

"For the longest time I was afraid to sleep at night," he loosened his hold when she spun in his arms. "My dreams were haunted you see?"

"Really?" She lifted her hands to cradle his face. "Who was haunting your dreams, mi amor?"

"A goddess," he rubbed small circles into her hips, "a beautiful goddess who was torn from my arms."

"Well," she stretched up and brushed her lips over his cheek, "winter is over."

"So it is," he bent and caught her lips. His mouth formed an exaggerated frown when she laid her hand on his chest. "Elskling?"

"I need to shower," she laughed when he laid kisses across her cheek, "I was just in a car crash."

A growl rumbled in his chest when he remembered her still body. "Don't remind me," his fingers threaded through her matted hair, "I thought I'd lost you."

"It's going to take a lot more than that," she smiled softly. "If I can survive a firing squad I think I can survive a car accident."

"What?" Kol's eyes grew round. He leaned back to meet emerald eyes.

"Let's just say the last three centuries have been eventful," she smirked, "very, very eventful. If I ever stayed too long in one spot someone would inevitably try to kill me. Obviously nobody succeeded."

"Let's keep it that way, please," he frowned. The thought that someone had tried to hurt her made his blood boil. He exhaled slowly and lifted her chin. "I believe you said something about a shower?"

She laughed when he kissed her nose and walked through the bedroom into the bathroom.

"Did you clean up?" She arched her brows when she emerged from the room wrapped in a fluffy blue towel.

Her apartment wasn't necessarily messy; it was just a little disorganized. She tried not to laugh when she saw the canisters on the kitchen counter lined up by size and the books on the shelf ordered by name.

"I did not," his arms snaked out and grabbed her waist.

Lexa gasped when she fell across his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I simply organized," he grasped the back of her neck and brought her mouth to his in a slow kiss.

"Neat freak," she accused with a chuckle. Her legs slid open when his fingers dipped beneath the hem of the towel.

"There is nothing wrong with being organized, little witch," Kol laid her down on the couch and hovered over her. "Am I mistaken, Elskling, or did come across my grimoire while you were in the shower?"

"Maybe," she arched her neck and kissed him. "Why, do you want it back?"

"I think I might," he nipped at her throat, "now that I can actually use it again." He pulled the knot of the towel free and trailed his hand down her soft skin.

"It's all yours," her fingers slowly undid his button down.

* * *

May

* * *

Lexa laughed when she was swept off her feet into his arms. Her legs dangled over his right arm. She hooked her elbow over his neck to steady her and arched an eyebrow.

"It's tradition, my little witch," he smirked and kicked the door shut when he stepped into the house.

"And we're all about traditions now?" She carefully pulled his tie free while he moved up the stairs. "I'm not going to find an audience in the bedroom am I?"

"Of course not," he lowered her to her feet when he stepped inside. "I told you: I have no intention of anyone ever seeing you naked again Mrs. Mikaelson."

Lexa hummed against his lips. "I think you also said something about my dress," she slid his jacket down his arms, "what was it again?"

"I was wondering how it would look bunched around your waist," he grinned before guiding her back to the bed. Meeting her eyes he tilted his head and smirked while falling to his knees in front of her.

Her breath caught in her throat. A delicious shiver raced down her spine as he slid his hands up her legs. The material was at her thighs when he pressed her to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I was right," he pulled her lace panties down her legs; "the dress looks exquisite like this."

Anticipation hummed through her body when he kissed her inner thigh.

"You can't really see the full effect down there," she bit her lip. Her head tipped back.

Kol's warm breath fanned across her wet centre. His tongue slid through her folds and avoided her clit entirely.

"Tease," she exhaled. A hot flush had crept up her chest under the gown. Her body quivered with need. "Kol…" she glared at him through her lashes and arched her hips, "… I believe you're the one that said I would turn you into a toad if you annoyed me…"

"I think teasing falls into a different category, Elskling," he grinned wickedly.

"Kol… please…" she gasped and fell back against the soft mattress when he pressed his tongue to the bundle of nerves. Her hips rose from the bed. The energy that had been coiling in her stomach broke free and raced through her veins.

"Better?" Kol stood and hovered over her on the bed.

"Much," she sat up and kissed across his jaw. "Do you want to know what I'm wondering?"

"Always," his fingers pulled the pins from her hair so it fell down her back. He ran his hand through the shiny waterfall and lifted her face so he could kiss her.

Lexa moaned when she tasted herself on his lips.

"I'm wondering," she undid his shirt and pushed it down his arms, "if my dress wouldn't look better pooled on the floor."

"I don't know," Kol spun her around and slid her hair over her shoulder. "There is only one way to find out."

She shivered and tilted her head when the silver ribbon was pulled free. Her arms held the dress in place until she felt his fingers brush over the base of her spine. She let go of the material and looked down when it fell around her feet.

"It looks pretty good," she spun around and stepped out of her heels, "but it's missing something."

"What would that be?" He hissed when her hand squeezed his cock through his pants.

Lexa pulled his belt free and dropped it over the white material. She sucked his collarbone and popped the button of his black trousers. "The remainder of your clothes."

Kol toed off his shoes and socks while she pushed his trousers down. Stepping out of the material his hands slid down under her thighs and lifted her.

"See now," she smirked when he laid her out on the bed and hovered over her, "it looks much better like that." Her hand snaked down his chest and wrapped around his erection.

"I find I have to agree," he trailed kisses down her throat.

Lexa's hand stilled when his teeth tugged on her nipple, and his fingers dipped between her thighs to circle her clit. Her breathing quickened as he pushed her towards the edge again. Her back arched upwards as she fell; juices ran down between her lips.

She pushed him over onto his back and brought her lips to his in a long kiss. Her leg hooked over his waist as she moved to straddle him.

Kol's fingers gently kneaded her smooth backside when she sank down taking his cock into her hot sheath. His eyes flickered from her flushed face to her heaving breasts. He flipped her onto her back and lifted her leg over his elbow when she slowed.

Later, after the third round, he slid his hand through her glossy hair.

"I do like your hair like this," he kissed her brow, "but I find I miss the wild curls."

"They'll come back when I wash it," she propped her chin on his chest and traced soft patterns over his stomach.

Kol smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. The hand not in her hair lowered the thin sheet and settled on her bare stomach. He rubbed the smooth bump.

Lexa felt a twisting sensation under his fingers. It was like the time Phoebe had talked her into going on a roller coaster and her stomach had flipped on the loop. It felt just like that, but lower and without the accompanying nausea.

"I got Elena to try the sodalite earlier," she whispered into the still room, "she used it on me and Caroline."

"Oh?" Kol flattened his palm over their unborn child.

"Mmhmm," she nodded. A playful smirk lifted the edges of her mouth. "I was going to tell you," she mused, "but you're all about traditions lately I thought you might prefer to be surprised, or would you rather know?"

"I want to know," his thumb rubbed circles into her skin. "Are you going to tell me, or do I have to get the sodalite myself?"

"That won't be necessary," she looked down at the small bump, "unless of course you want to try your hand at the spell."

"I'm pretty sure we left the pendant at the compound, and I have no intention of leaving you to retrieve it."

Lexa shook with a silent laughter. "It's a boy."

"A boy?" Kol propped himself on his elbow and met her eyes. "We're having a boy?" He flattened his hand over her stomach.

"We're having a boy," she smiled into his kiss. Her lips turned down when she saw the look in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he shook his head. "I cannot remember the last time I was this happy. I just… I just can't shake the thought that I'm having a very good dream, and that I'll wake up one of these days to find none of it ever happened."

"You're not dreaming," she cupped his cheek, "and I'm not going anywhere."

"Are you sure we're not dreaming?" He smiled gently. "A beautiful wife and child are something I'd only ever dreamed about."

"You're not," she stretched up and kissed his cheek. "I'm right here, mi amor."

"I believe you," he kissed her shoulder, "but on the off chance you're wrong and this is a dream I just want to say: that it is the best one I've ever had and I never want to wake up from it."

"Your mother is actively trying to kill her grandchildren from the other side," Lexa tilted her head on the pillow, "and you've got a possibly alive baby snatching aunt."

"You've met my siblings, Lexa," he chuckled. "I should think it quite normal for my dreams to be full of drama."

"Well," she smoothed his hair from his brow, "if you are dreaming do you think you could dial it back a little bit? That would be the easiest way to deal with the mess."

"If only I could," he sighed.

"That just tells me we're living in the real world," Lexa smiled. "No pixie dust out here."

"Shame," he lifted the sheet over her body when he felt her shiver. "We've had a very chaotic day."

"We have," she draped her arm across his stomach and laid her head over his heart.

"Have I told you today that I love you?"

Lexa made a show of looking at the clock which revealed it was a new day. "I don't think you have."

"That is simply unacceptable," he tightened his hold around her back. "I love you, my little witch," he pressed his right hand to her stomach, "and my little warlock."

"We love you too," she blinked tiredly.

"How could you possibly know that?" He kissed the top of her head. Her sleepy reply had him fondly rolling his eyes.

"Sometimes I know things."


	19. 2015/1001

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.
> 
> Everything from the last chapter to the end of the next happened within the confines of DWTH. It's literally the bonus stuff that I never put in. So if you're reading this and you didn't read the other one and you want to read about the reactions of Kol's family to Lexa she enters the story at chapter 10 at which point my ELEJAH story morphed in to a KLAROLINE, LOL, FONNIE (FinnxBonnie) story.

 

* * *

July 2015

* * *

Elena lifted the car seat holding her newborn daughter onto the bench and tried not to dwell to long on the knowledge that her twins first outing was to a cemetery. There was something strangely morbid in that.

"The spell was cast in the fall of 1001," Elena's eyes flickered to Piper when she joined her with baby Faith. "You can go any time before that." She looked at shadows beneath Lexa's eyes. "Are you sure you're up for this Lexa?"

"I'm fine." Lexa drew in a deep breath and held her hand over her turning son; she was five months pregnant at that point and could feel her baby kicking. That was the first time he had ever kicked. She swallowed down her tears and steeled her nerves. "I just really wish that phone call had gone through. How about May 13, 1001"

"That sounds good to me," Phoebe offered her an encouraging smile.

Lexa returned it before nodding once and joining hands with Phoebe and Paige. Their voices swirled together in the shadow of the mausoleum.

_Hear the words, hear the rhyme_

_Heed the hope within our minds_

_Send us back so we can find_

_What we seek in space and time._

* * *

May 13, 1001 AD

* * *

Paige pulled Lexa behind a tree when she swayed and held her elbows. The dazed look in the blonde's eyes made her uneasy.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Phoebe glanced around the side of the tree and into the center of the busy village. She was still a little in awe of the fact that it had worked. She easily recognized Kol's little sister when she passed through a beam of sunlight carrying a basket of herbs.

"No I'm not alright," Lexa swiped at her tears. "In the last twenty-four hours I have been kidnapped by my husband's crazy aunt, and then subsequently abducted by his siblings and father. I've had my magic cut off and later returned. I helped Elena deliver her daughters, and now I am in the in the past; literally hundreds of years before I was born to take the blood of a witch I do not know so I can kill the one we may as well call Rumpelstiltskin."

Phoebe lifted a bottle of water from her bag and uncapped it. She rubbed soothingly between Lexa's shoulder blades and held the cool liquid to her lips.

"Slow sips, sweetie," Paige wrapped her arm around her friend's waist. "It's going to be alright."

"How could you possibly know that?" Lexa sniffled. She took gasping breaths and wiped her hand across her mouth.

"Because," Phoebe smirked, "like you: sometimes  _I_  know things." She leaned back and hid the water back in her bag. "And I know that we are going to get this blood. I know that you are going to confront Rumpelstiltskin, and you are going to do it surrounded by your family."

"Take some time to get be ready," Paige pulled a pine needle from her hair, "we've got a thousand odd years before anything actually happens."

Lexa managed a watery smile. She took a few minutes to steady herself before pushing away from the tree.

"There's one thing we didn't think of," she chewed on her lip, "the language barrier."

"I brought a spell for that," Phoebe held up her finger to signify that she should wait. "Or rather Piper made a potion for that." She lifted a small vial with a lilac coloured liquid.

"Is that safe?" Lexa smoothed her shirt down. It was a borrowed maternity blouse of Piper's from nearly a decade before.

"Perfectly safe," Paige assured her. "If it affects your son at all it will be for the better. He'll just understand every language."

"I wonder if it'll let me understand baby talk." Lexa pressed her lips together and laughed.

"It's only temporary," Phoebe took a sip and passed the vial to Paige, "according to the book the longest it has ever lasted is a week."

"Alright then," Lexa exhaled before downing a small sip. Her eyes widened at the sweet taste that exploded over her tongue. "How should we do this?"

"Which witch is Original witch?" Paige poked her head around the tree and peered into the village.

"No idea," Lexa shook her head, "I've never seen the woman before in my life."

"That means she hasn't been born yet," Phoebe stage whispered. "She's less than a thousand years old."

"I believe I already mentioned that," Lexa rolled her eyes. "There's Rebekah," she nodded to the blonde. Lexa watched her pause and say something to a young boy before walking towards a home with flowers hanging from the windows. "That's the house."

Phoebe turned her head to watch her friend for a moment before making the obvious suggestion.

"We could just try asking," she lifted her eyebrows.

"We don't exactly blend in," Lexa nodded to their clothes.

"So we don't be seen until we're at the door," Paige arched an eyebrow.

"This woman was trying to kill her grandchildren from the other side," Lexa cradled her stomach protectively.

"That was after a thousand years spent on the other side," Phoebe reasoned. "Right now she is still a mother who loves her children unconditionally, right?"

"And if it goes badly," Paige tilted her head, "we can just put her to sleep and take the blood. You know a spell to alter someone's memory."

Lexa nodded hesitantly before allowing Paige to take her arm and steer her around the side of the tree. They skirted the village until they were behind the Mikaelson home. She took the vial from Phoebe and tucked it in her pocket.

"Let me try this alone."

"We're right here if you need us," Paige smiled.

Lexa took a deep breath before muttering a spell for invisibility under her breath. Even knowing that nobody could see her she took the time to look this way and that before stepping lightly through the small garden and coming to a stop beside the open door. She took a deep breath through her nose and immediately regretted it when she was greeted with the heady smells of a farm; it had been a few dozen decades since she had been around that smell.

She closed her eyes and willed her stomach to settle before gently stepping through the crack in the door into the house.

Lexa followed her ears and the rhythmic sound of grinding around the roughhewn furniture and into what had to be the main room of the house. She peeked into each room that she passed until she was certain they were all empty.

When she finally turned to the person grinding herbs over a tall table the breath caught in her throat.

Sunlight streamed through the low window and illuminated the bare arms. The lean muscles shifted under the weight of the task. It was the complete focus on his face that made her abdomen quiver with the beginning strains of arousal.

She blamed the baby hormones. She really did. It had nothing to do with the thick muscle she could see straining in his arms and neck. It had nothing to do with the intense light in his eyes. It had nothing to do with the bead of sweat running down his tanned chest.

It was the baby hormones.

She held her breath when he stopped and lifted his gaze in her direction. Could he see her? How much trouble would she cause if he could?

She exhaled when she realized he was looking through her. It was a very curious look, almost as if he could sense her, but he was looking through her.

"Kol," an older woman strode into the house, "I sent your brother for woodruff, but it appears he has become distracted. Kol?"

His head snapped around to the woman. "Sorry mother," he frowned at the empty space, "I got distracted."

"Then an excursion will do you well," Esther smiled, "go on." She waited until her son was gone before shutting the door with a wave of her hand and examining the work Kol had completed. "You can come out now."

Lexa swallowed. She quietly lowered her invisibility spell and stepped forward.

"Kindly explain who you are," Esther sprinkled the ground herbs into an iron pot, "and what you are doing in my home."

"Well," Lexa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I uh I don't think you'll believe me."

"I will be the judge of that," Esther's eyes fell to Lexa's swollen stomach.

Lexa licked her suddenly dry lips and took a few steps closer. "I need your blood… for a spell."

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so nervous. Kol had once described his mother as a genius witch and an overprotective matriarch.

A line appeared between Esther's brows. She tilted her head to the side and scrutinized the blonde.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Lexa," she blinked. "I came back in time," honesty seemed the best way to go. She reminded herself again that she could put Esther to sleep if need be and alter her memory. "I married your son."

Esther's eyes fell to the glittering emeralds on Lexa's hand when she held her stomach. She stepped around the table and stopped in front of the young woman and tilted her head down.

Anxiety swirled in her chest when Esther laid her hands on the baby bump.

"This is your first," her eyes widened.

Lexa nodded once. It was a statement not a question, but she still confirmed it.

"I need your blood to stop her," Lexa grimaced when the baby kicked her kidney.

"You've found a way to stop her?" Esther's brows shot up. "Why didn't you just ask me in your present?" She sighed when Lexa bit her lip. "I'm no longer alive."

Her curls swayed around her head when she shook it. "I'm hoping you will help me."

Esther shook her head and sighed before backing up to the table. "There is no stopping Dahlia. The only way to keep her from taking the child is if the child does not exist."

"It will work," Lexa insisted. "I know it will work," she stepped towards Esther and caught a glimpse of Klaus moving towards the house.

"No it won't," Esther sighed.

"Am I to take it that means you won't help me?" Lexa steeled her nerves when Esther nodded. "Very well; I tried it the nice way, but I will be damned if I let that woman take my son." A deadly sense of calm took over her when she raised her hand and whispered the invocation with every ounce of power in her body. "Dormir."

Lexa saw the surprise register in Esther's dark eyes before they drifted shut and the woman slumped down on the floor. She pulled the vial from her pocket and lifted a knife from the table. She drew the blade gently over Esther's wrist and watched the blood fill the glass.

"Mierda," she swore when the door opened. Her voice dropped to a hushed whisper. "Invisque."

She scrambled back out of the way when Klaus rushed forward and fell to his knees in front of his mother. She thanked her lucky stars that the memory manipulation spell was non-verbal. She didn't have anything to replace the lost memory with however so she could only pray Esther wouldn't question the lost time between Kol's departure and her 'fainting spell'.

* * *

Lexa tucked the blood into her pocket when she emerged into the sunlight and closed her eyes to center herself before starting across the small garden.

"How did it go?" Phoebe asked when she lowered the invisibility spell.

"She is a singularly stubborn woman with little faith in the abilities of me or the plan, which she never bothered to ask about," Lexa exhaled sharply. "I put her to sleep."

"As long as you got the blood," Paige took her hand and lifted the paper with the spell to return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left... I promise it's all fluff and smut.


	20. 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.
> 
> This is the final chapter. It includes tons of fluffy fluff fluff and some smut. The smut is contained to the Thanksgiving part of the story so if you do not like do not read.
> 
> The chapter takes place a year before the epilogue of DWTH.

 

* * *

Thanksgiving 2018

* * *

Kol straightened the green sweater and pushed the door to swing open gently before laying his son down beside his niece in the large bed.

He smoothed back the dark hair before removing his shoes and lifting a blanket over the two children. He caught Hope's stuffed wolf before it could fall over and smiled when she wrapped her fingers in the soft fur.

Quietly, so as not to wake the sleeping children, he stood and pulled the door shut. He still had days when he didn't quite believe it had happened.

Now and then he would wake up in the middle of the night convinced it had all been a dream. When that happened he would wrap his arm firmly around his wife's waist and listen to the gentle variations in her heart. Nine times out of ten she would typically wake up and focus all of her energy into easing his worries in a tangle of limbs and a mess of gentle kisses.

Then there were the times she would find him standing over their son in the nursery. He always assured her he was fine on those occasions. He wasn't worried he was in awe. He just loved watching his son sleep. The innocence he saw on their child's face was breathtaking.

Kol paused when he reached the stairs that led into the courtyard. His smile was fond if a little confused when his eyes landed on his wife.

Her eyes were closed as she spun in a slow circle with her pale face angled towards the night sky. He could see the near giddy smile on her face as the water swirled around her calves.

"What are you doing, Elskling?" He flashed into the courtyard. He tilted his head and tipped it back while he smirked up at her.

"Trying to cool off," she giggled innocently. "Where's Gabe?"

"Sound asleep," Kol settled his hands on her hips, "I put him down with Hope." He chuckled when she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm taller," she grinned. Her eyes flickered over his amused features.

"Yes," he hummed, "you are," his hands slid around to her back. "That leads me to believe you are wearing your shoes in the fountain."

"Maybe I am," she drew kissed along his jaw and nibbled on his ear, "maybe I'm not," her breath tickled his neck. "If you want to know you'll have to come in."

"I could just lift you out," he closed his eyes and relished the feeling of her teeth scraping across his jaw.

Lexa dragged her fingers down his torso and tugged on his belt. After the feast Caroline had practically force fed them all she should not have been hungry, but she found she had a sudden craving for dessert.

"That's not going to cool you off, little witch," Kol inhaled sharply when she unfastened his pants. Her deft fingers dipped into the fabric and wrapped around his hardening cock.

"Maybe," she pumped him slowly, "I want to warm up." She could smell her own arousal dampening her panties.

"Now that I can help you with," he caught her lips in a frantic kiss.

His fingers dug into her hips deliciously. He was going to pull her from the fountain and flash upstairs when she shook her head.

"Too far," she panted against his lips.

"Here?" His eyes widened when she nodded.

"Got a problem with that?" She left fiery kisses across his throat and pulled him free from his pants.

"Not at all, Elskling," he chuckled. Kicking off his shoes he stepped into the fountain and hissed when the cold water circled his ankles. "No wonder you wanted to warm up."

Lexa smirked before backing up and using her palms to hoist herself onto the basin. A shiver traveled her spine when the water seeped into her skin.

"And now I'm cold and wet," she caught his shirt and pulled him between her open legs.

"Let me help you with that," Kol smirked.

Heat curled down her spine under his mouth's assault on her throat. Her stomach quivered with desire.

She heard the sharp sound of her underwear ripping and felt his fingers graze her swollen lips. She glared as he worked her into a frenzy with teasing swipes of his thumb over her clit.

She took matters into her own hands and reached between them for his throbbing erection. The look in her eyes was fierce when she lined him up with her dripping entrance.

"I need you," she grasped the back of his neck and brushed her lips over his ear, "I need you right now."

"Mm, yes," she gasped when he drove into her pliant body in one smooth thrust. Her head fell back when he gained momentum and snapped his hips into her.

Kol used his left hand to steady her and keep her from tumbling backwards into the shallow bowl of water. His right hand edged up her blouse and caressed her breast. Leaning forward he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and swept his tongue over hers.

Lexa tightened her muscles and swallowed his groan. She popped the top buttons of his shirt and traced his collarbone with her tongue.

His hearing was stronger than hers so when he picked up the sound of tiny feet in the upstairs hall, and approached steps from the kitchen he lowered his hand from her supple breast to her engorged clit.

A moment under the expert manipulation of his thumb and Lexa's head fell back in ecstasy.

Kol buried his face in her neck and bit down his moan while letting go deep inside of her lithe body. He smiled into her lazy kiss before breaking contact and chuckling at the pout on her face.

He resisted the urge to laugh at the crimson stain on her cheeks.

"Mommy… daddy," Gabe rubbed his eyes sleepily and blinked from the top of the stairs, "what are you doing?"

Lexa wrapped her leg around Kol's waist for balance and looked over her shoulder. To her credit she did not sputter.

"Nothing, sweetie," she smiled, "I tripped. Your dad is just helping me get up."

"I think you meant 'off', Elskling," he breathed against her cheek.

She inhaled sharply and smiled. "Go find your shoes Gabe." She waited until he scampered off towards Hope's bedroom. "Remind me to punish you for that later."

"I swear," Kol straightened his clothes as the steps from the kitchen got closer, "that I will swiftly forget."

"Do I want to know what you're doing in the fountain?" Klaus paused when he saw them.

"We were just leaving," Kol chuckled.

Lexa laughed when he pulled her into his arms and flashed her into the car outside. "Are you forgetting something, mi amor?"

"Never," he swore, "I just thought you'd like to get out of there before the wind shifted and Nik got a whiff of you."

She blushed when he shut her door and flashed back into the house. He returned moments later with Gabe in his arms.

* * *

New Year's Eve, 2018

* * *

Lexa took a deep breath and inhaled the soothing smell of ginger rising from her mug. The steam from the tea lifted into the still air of the kitchen.

She had been feeling a little run down all day. She had blamed it on the time of year. Christmas was a stressful season.

If her mother was still alive she would have laughed and told her she was in firm denial. Tia would have said the same thing when Lexa started rubbing the sore spot from her breast.

It finally clicked for her when Kol kissed her cheek before pulling a bag of blood from the fridge. Her mouth watered and her stomach turned when he warmed the blood and poured some into a cup for Gabe and the rest into a mug.

"Are you alright, little witch?" Kol lowered his mug before he could take a sip and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"You look white," Gabe chimed in from the table.

"I'm alright," she stretched up and kissed Kol's cheek. Carefully she slid from his arms and bent over Gabe's dark curls. She kept her back to her husband so he wouldn't see her nose wrinkle when she kissed their son's head. "I just forgot an errand I need to run. Will you be alright for a few hours?"

"I think we can manage," Kol came around and tousled his son's hair. "What do you have to do?"

"I'll tell you later," she smirked before exiting the kitchen. "Try not to set the house on fire."

"That happened one time," Kol called after her, "and it wasn't even us."

"Yeah," Gabe's little voice chimed in, "it was Grace."

* * *

"Are we expecting company?" Elena turned towards her husband when the knock sounded on the door.

"Not that I'm aware of," Elijah shook his head. He turned towards the sound of loud shrieks coming from the twin's bedroom. "You want the door, or the girls?"

"Well," Elena cocked her head to the right, "it sounds like they're up to no good so I'll take the door."

"I get to deal with the troublemakers?" Elijah chuckled.

"I took the last round," Elena backed away towards the door, "besides you've got a thousand years of experience dealing with Klaus and Kol. Hurry up now," she waved to the stairs, "before Grace sets the house on fire again."

Elijah rolled his eyes. He caught her waist before she could open the door and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

Elena laughed when he flashed up the stairs and the shrieks turned to hushed giggles.

"Okay," Lexa strode in through the front door, "I need you to do something for me, and you can't say a word about it to anyone."

"Good afternoon to you to," Elena cocked an eyebrow. Her eyes widened as a gleeful grin lifted the corners of her lips when Lexa pulled a blue pendant from her pocket. "Are you…"

"Not a word," Lexa slapped her hand over Elena's mouth. "Can you do it or not?"

Elena nodded. She took the pendant and led Lexa into the sitting room.

Stretching out over the plush couch she smoothed down her shirt over her flat stomach and watched Elena lift the stone. She stilled the pendant so it hung still over Lexa's abdomen and murmured the incantation she had learned years before.

Lexa couldn't stop her grin when the sodalite made slow arches over stomach.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Gabe climbed onto the couch and looked at the dried flowers on the coffee table. They had turned brown in the winter air.

"I am restoring these flowers for your mom," Kol pulled Gabe into his lap. "They're her favorite." He picked up one of the flowers and whispered the spell: "Phasmatos Tribum, Plantus Vivifey, Plantus Herbus."

He smiled when the daisy took on a new life.

"Can I try?" Gabe reached for one of the stems.

"Of course," Kol laid the revived flower on the table. He was going to help his son with the words when he turned around and found the flower in perfect health. "How did you do that?" He tilted his head and took the flower.

"Like this," Gabe picked up another daisy and cupped his hands around the petals. He blew gently before opening his hands.

"Well," Kol lifted the daisy, "it looks like you can do this a lot faster than I can."

* * *

Lexa bent at the waist when Gabe came running around the corner and stopped in front of her with a big grin.

"What are you up to?" She smiled and lifted an eyebrow. She gasped when he pulled a handful of white flowers from behind his back and held them to her face.

"Daddy says they're your favorite," Gabe grinned from ear to ear.

"Well," Lexa smelled the fresh scent before pulling her son up into her arms, "daddy was right, but don't tell him that," she whispered conspiratorially when she saw Kol leaning in the door frame to the living room, "it'll just go to his head."

"Okay," Gabe dropped his voice.

Kol shook his head and laughed before revealing the blue vase he had been hiding behind his back.

"Did you restore all of these flowers just for me?" Lexa guided Gabe's hand so he could place the daisies in the vase.

"Technically Gabe did most of them," Kol held the vase in his hand and turned his full attention to his son. "Where should we put these?"

Gabe frowned and narrowed his eyes. His hand lifted from his mother's shoulder to tap his cheek in the way he had seen her do from time to time.

"In the sunroom," he decided after a minute, "so mommy can see them when she's reading."

"I think that's an excellent idea," Lexa nodded solemnly. She lowered Gabe to the floor and watched him carefully carry the flowers to the small table by her reading chair. "Thank you."

"Your welcome," Gabe hugged her legs before grinning and running off to play.

Lexa watched him go and laid her head on Kol's shoulder. "He did that by himself?"

"Before I could even coach him through the spell," he chuckled and smelled her hair. "Doesn't really surprise me though."

"Why not?" Lexa let him pull her down into the chair and snuggled into his chest.

"Well," he ran his fingers through her curls, "for starters he comes from two very powerful witch bloodlines."

"I sense there is more to this," she took his hand and slotted her fingers between his.

"I have a theory," Kol nodded solemnly. "There were four children all conceived and born within a year of each other; all sharing a common bloodline. Grace has a gift for pyrotechnics and Gabe showed today a talent for plants and the earth. I wouldn't be surprised it Sheila and Faith start to show signs of elemental control soon."

"Just Sheila," Lexa hummed. She leaned back so she could look into his eyes. "I stopped by because I needed Elena's help with something and Faith had turned the floor of the bedroom into a skating rink. It was actually kind of funny; Elijah wasn't expecting it so he slipped on the ice. Elena and I found the girls sliding across the floor and Elijah struggling not to laugh."

"It'll likely be air then," Kol chuckled. He toyed with her engagement ring. "Did you get your errand done?"

"Yes," she opened her purse and pulled out an envelope before handing it to him.

"Elskling," Kol pulled out a few pieces of heavy paper, "why did you run out on New Year's Eve for paint chips?"

"We need to repaint," she spread out the colours in her hand like poker cards, "the room across from our bedroom. Now I personally hate pink," she pulled a few of the chips from her hand, "I think it's overdone, but it's also traditional. Although I'd prefer purple, maybe," she pointed to the lavender, periwinkle, and orchid.

"Or we could go with green," she held up a turquoise and jade chip, "its gender neutral but nowhere as hideous as yellow. I'm leaning towards a purple though," she kept her expression neutral when she heard his breath catch on the word 'gender', "what do you think?"

"Lexa…" he swallowed and flattened his hand over her stomach, "… are you… are we…?"

A grin broke out across her face when she nodded. Warmth filled her chest when she saw the happiness sparkling in his dark eyes.

"It's a girl," she laughed when he kissed her soundly. "Seriously though," she gasped when he pulled back to let her breathe, "Which colour?"

Kol rested his forehead against hers and smiled. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Show me again," he caressed her flat stomach.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.
> 
> I've got this headcannon that Giulia (that's the baby) has her mom's hair but the curls are softer like Rebekah's. She got her grandmother's (the one she took her name from) turquoise eyes and her dad's mischievous smirk... Gabe got that too.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've ever written a relationship of this type, so go easy on me. Kol makes his appearance in the next chapter after a two year time jump.


End file.
